DOCUMENTS 
DEPT. 


REPORT  OF 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  FIRST  NATIONAL  CONFERENCE  ON 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION 


OF  PERSONS  DISABLED  IN  INDUSTRY  OR  OTHERWISE 


St.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  15,  16,  17, 1922 


ISSUED  BY  THE 

FEDERAL  BOARD  FOR  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OPFIOE. 
1922. 


DOCUMENTS 
OEPT. 


FEDERAL  BOARD  FOR  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION. 

MEMBERS. 


HERBERT  C.  HOOVER, 
Secretary  of  Commerce. 

HENRY  G.  WALLACE, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

JOHN  J.  TIGERT, 

Commissioner  of  Education. 


JAMES  J.  DAVIS,  Chairman, 
Secretary  of  Labor. 

HARRY  L.  FIDLER,  Vice  Chairman, 

Labor. 
,     EDWARD  T.  FRANKS, 

Manufacture  and  Commerce. 
CALVIN  F.  MC!NTOSH, 
Agriculture. 

EXECUTIVE  STAFF. 


J.  C.  WRIGHT,  Director. 

C.  H.  LANE,  Chief,  FRANK  CUSHMAN,  Chief, 

Agricultural  Education  Service.  Industrial  Education  Service. 

ANNA  E.  RICHARDSON,  Chief, 
Home  Economics  Education  Service. 

JOHN  AUBEL  KRATZ,  Chief,  EARL  W.  BARNHART,  Chief, 

Vocational  Rehabilitation  Division,  Commercial  Education  Service. 

JOHN  CUMMINGS, 
Editor  and  Statistician. 
2 


CERTIFICATE:  By  order  of  the  Director  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  the  matter 
contained  herein  is  published  as  administrative  information  and  is  required  for  the  proper  transaction 
of  the  oublic  business. 


DCPT. 

CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Foreword 5 

List  of  persons  in  attendance  at  the  conference 7 

GENERAL   MEETING,    MAY   15,    2  P.    M. 

Address  of  welcome 12 

A  national  program  of  vocational  rehabilitation 16 

Reciprocity  among  States  in  vocational  rehabilitation  work 20 

General  discussion 22 

Rehabilitation  of  persons  with  type  disabilities 25 

General  discussion 28 

GROUP   MEETING,    MAY   16,    9   A.    M. 

Rehabilitation  in  the  field  of  agriculture 31 

General  discussion 41 

GROUP   MEETING,    MAY   16,    10.30   A.    M. 

Securing  cooperation  of  industrial  management  in  the  employment  of  the 

disabled 46 

General  discussion 59 

GENERAL   MEETING,    MAY   1%    2  P.    M. 

Social  and  economic  significance  of  vocational  rehabilitation 62 

Responsibility  of  industrial  management  in  vocational  rehabilitation 70 

General  discussion 74 

The  worker's  interest  in  rehabilitation 76 

GROUP   MEETING,    MAY   17,    9   A.    M. 

Cooperation  by  other  State  departments  in  rehabilitation  work 80 

General  discussion 91 

GROUP   MEETING,    MAY   17,    10.30   A.    M. 

Cooperation  by  private  agencies  in  rehabilitation  work 93 

General  discussion 109 

GENERAL   MEETING,    MAY   17,    2   P.    M. 

Proposed  investigations  to  be  undertaken  by  the  Federal  and  State  boards 115 

General  discussion '. 122 

Problems  of  future  legislation 128 

General  discussion . .  129 


Available  bulletins  of  the  Federal  board  for  vocational  education 136, 


775859 


FOREWORD. 


The  following  pages  contain  a  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
First  National  Conference  on  Vocational  Rehabilitation  of  Persons 
Injured  in  Industry  or  Otherwise,  held  at  St.  Louis,  May  15,  16,  and 
17,  1922,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Division  of  Vocational  Rehabili- 
tation of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education.  The  con- 
ference was  called  by  the  Federal  Board  in  response  to  the  sugges- 
tion of  many  State  directors  and  supervisors  of  vocational  rehabilita- 
tion, for  the  purpose  of  pooling  experience  and  discussing  topics  of 
vital  concern  to  all,  at  a  stage  in  the  work  where  it  was  very  much 
needed.  A  national  conference  was  called  this  year  in  preference 
to  the  former  regional  conferences  for  the  reason  that  it  was  felt 
that  vastly  more  would  be  gained  through  the  contact  of  a  larger 
number  of  State  directors  and  supervisors,  as  well  as  others  in  allied 
fields  of  work,  than  was  possible  at  the  regional  conferences.  It  was 
the  opinion  of  many  who  were  present  that  this  result  had  been 
fully  accomplished. 

J.  C.  WRIGHT,  Director. 


List  of  Persons  in  Attendance  at  the  Conference. 

ANDERSON,  CLAUDE  H.,  Special  Agent,  Vocational  Rehabilitation  Federal  Board  for 

Vocational  Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 
ANDERSON,  MARY,  Director,  Women's  Bureau,  Department  of  Labor,  Washington, 

D.  C. 
BAKER,  Mrs.  MARY  SANFORD,  Assistant  Supervisor,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  State 

Department  of  Education,  Jackson,  Miss. 
BLACK,  MILLARD  A.,  Special  Agent,  Vocational  Rehabilitation,  Federal  Board  for 

Vocational  Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 

BOUGH,  ALICE  K.,  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 
BRACKETT,  E.  E.,  Principal,  University  of  Nebraska  Trades  School,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 
BRILES,  CHAS.  W.,  State  Director  for  Vocational  Education,  Oklahoma  City,  Okla. 
BUESCHEN,  MAY  DAVIS,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

BURTON,  HENRY  F.,  Assistant  State  Supervisor,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Indian- 
apolis, Ind. 
CANGNEY,  DORIS  M.,  Secretary,  Industrial  Department,  Social  Service  Federation  of 

Ohio,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

CARTER,  HAZEL  M.,  Employment  Worker,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
CHAMBERLAIN,  MARY  L.,  Social  Worker,  Washington  University  Dispensary,  St. 

Louis,  Mo. 
CLAYTON,  FRANK  J.,  Special  Agent,  Vocational  Rehabilitation,  Federal  Board  for 

Vocational  Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 

CONNERY,  JULIA  M.,  Principal,  Central  Institute  for  Deaf,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
CONNOR,  DAISY  M.,  Assistant  Secretary,  Missouri  Association  for  the  Blind,  St.  Louis, 

Mo. 
COPP,  TRACY,  Special  Agent,  Vocational  Rehabilitation,  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 

Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 

CUMMINGS,  H.  B.,  Special  Agent,  Vocational  Rehabilitation,  Federal  Board  for  Voca- 
tional Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DALLAS,  HERBERT  A.,  Supervisor  of  Rehabilitation,  Boston,  Mass. 
DAVIS,  LILLIAN  H.,  Field  Agent,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
FAULKES,  W.  F.,  State  Supervisor,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  State  Department, 

Madison,  Wis. 
FERGUSON,  SHIRLEY,  Chapter  Correspondent,  Southwestern  Division,  A.  R.  C.,  St. 

Louis,  Mo. 

FISCHEL,  MRS.  WASHINGTON  E.,  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
FULMER,  C.  A.,  State  Director  of  Vocational  Rehabilitation,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 
GRANT,  WILLIS  W.,  Supervisor,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  State  Capitol,  Des  Moines, 

Iowa. 

GUILD,  A.  A.,  Superintendent,  Social  Service  Federation,  Toledo,  Ohio. 
GUSTAFSON,  LEWIS,  Superintendent,  Rankin  School,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
HANGER,  J.  E.,  President,  Hanger  Artificial  Limb  Co.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
HARVEY,  H.  V.,  Assistant  Supervisor  of  Rehabilitation,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
HAWKINS,  HILDRED  M.,  Special  Agent,  Women's  Bureau,  Department  of  Labor, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

HENRY,  LLOYD  A.,  Agent,  Civilian  Rehabilitation,  Helena,  Mont. 
HOLT,  IDA  V.,  Student  Nurse,  W.  U.  T.  L.  O.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


8  VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION. 

HORTQN,  GEO.  E.,  Rehabilitation  Agent,  Idaho  State  Board  for  Vocational  Educa- 
tion, Boise,  Idaho. 

HUBBABD,  F.  J.,  State  Director,  Vocational  Rehabilitation,  Jackson,  Miss. 
JENNISON,  KATHLEEN  B.,  Special  Agent,  United  States. Women's  Bureau,  Depart- 
ment of  Labor,  Washington,  D.  C. 
JEWELL,  J.  R.,  Assistant  State  Supervisor,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Department  of 

Vocational  Education,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 

JOB,  LEONARD  B.,  State  Supervisor,  Vocational  Rehabilitation,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 
JONES,  VALLE,  Stenographer,  D.  P.  Kane  Co.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
KELLEY,  MAY,  Social  Worker,  Washington  University  Dispensary,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
KEOUGH,  FREDERIC  W.,  Associate  Editor,  "Industry,"  Washington,  D.  C. 
KLINEFELTER,  EUGENIA  L.,  Medical  Social  Worker,  Washington  University  Social 

Service,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
KRATZ,  JOHN  AUBEL,  Chief,  Vocational  Rehabilitation  Division,  Federal  Board  for 

Vocational  Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 
KREYLING,  DAVID,  Secretary-Treasurer,  Central  Trades  and  Labor  Union,  St.  Louis, 

Mo. 
KTJNZ,  BEN  G.,  Representative  Safety  Department,  American  Car  &  Foundry  Co., 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

LAIN,  F.  M.,  D.  P.  Kane  &  Co.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

LAND,  FORT  E.,  Supervisor  of  Rehabilitation,  State  Capitol,  Atlanta,  Ga. 
LANE,  MAY  ROGERS,  SpecialJAgent,  United  States  Women's  Bureau,  Department  of 

Labor,  Washington,  D.  C. 

LAPP,  DR.  JOHN  A.,  The  Nation's  Health,  Chicago,  111. 
LE  Bow,  C.  M.,  Field  Agent,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 
LISON,  MARGUERITE,  Director,  Division  of  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Pierre,  S.  Dak. 
MCCLELLAN,  LUCIA,  Deputy  Industrial  Inspector,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
MCCULLOUGH,  Mrs.  FLORENCE,  Social  Worker,  Washington  University  Dispensary 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

McPiKE,  JOSEPHINE,  ChapterDorrespondent,  A.  R.  C.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
MANGOLD,  GEORGE  B.,  Missouri  School  of  Social  Work,  Misssouri  State  University, 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 
MANNING,   CAROLINE,   Industrial  Assistant,  United  States  Department  of  Labor, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

MARTIN,  H.  G.,  Acting  Supervisor  of  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  New  Orleans,  La. 
MEYER,  ERVINE,  Field  Officer,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
MOORE,  JOHN  T.,  Chief  Clerk,  Medical  Department,  State  Compensation  Department, 

Charleston,  W.  Va. 
MOORE,  MARGARET,  Case  Correspondent,  Southwestern  Division,  A.  R.  C.,  St.  Louis, 

Mo. 

MOORE,  Mrs.  PHILIP  N.,  President,  National  Council  of  Women,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
MOORE,  W.  J.,  Secretary,  Commission  for  Blind,  Oklahoma  City,  Okla. 
MORRIS,  IRENE,  Social  Worker,  Washington  University  Dispensary,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
MORRISON,  A.  H.,  Mechanical  Arts  H.  S.,  Boston,  Mass. 

MOYER-WING  ALICE  CURTICE,  Industrial  Inspection  Department,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
NOOTER,  MARIE,  Social  Service  (Medical)  Red  Cross  U.  S.  V.  H.  No.  35,  St.  Louis, 

Mo. 

OTT,  LEE,  State  Compensation  Commissioner,  Charleston,  W.  Va. 
PAYTON,  Susanne  A.,  Chapter  Case  Correspondent,  S.  W.  Division,  A.  R.  C.,  St. 

Louis,  Mo. 
RAMEY,  MARGARET,  Supervisor,  Case  Correspondence,  S.  W.  Division,  A.  R.  C.,  St. 

Louis,  Mo. 

REAVIS,  GEO.  W.,  Assistant  Director,  Rehabilitation,  Jefferson  City,  Mo. 
RENARD,  BLANCH,  Assistant  Director,  Community  Council,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


VOCATIONAL,  REHABILITATION.  9 

RIDDLE,  S.  S.,  Chief,  Bureau  of  Rehabilitation,  Pennsylvania  Department  of  Labor 
and  Industry,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

ROCKEY,  D.  W.,  Supervisor,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Santa  Fe,  N.  Mex. 

SAYLOR,  CHARLES  HENRY,  Acting  Supervisor,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Springfield, 
111. 

SCHNEIDER,  ERNEST  L.,  State  Supervisor  of  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Missouri 
State  Department  of  Education,  Jefferson  City,  Mo. 

SCHOLZ,  HELEN  C.,  Medical  Social  Work,  A.  R.  C.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

SCHOPMEYER,  C.  H.,  Assistant  in  Agricultural  Education,  S.  R.  S.,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. 

SCHWAB,  MRS.  S.  I.,  Missouri  Association  for  Occupational  Therapy,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

SHANNON,  MAY,  Secretary-Treasurer,  Bindery  Women's  Union  No.  55,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

SHAW,  JOHN  C.,  Special  Agent,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Wheeling,  West  Virginia. 

SHAW,  W.  F.,  Supervisor,  Civilian  Rehabilitation,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

SMALL,  R.  O.,  Director  of  Vocational  Rehabilitation,  Department  of  Education,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

SNORTUM,  KENNETH  O.,  Assistant  Director  of  Reeducation,  Minnesota  State  De- 
partment of  Education,  St.  Paul,  Minn.  % 

SONNENSCHEIN,  ALICE,  American  Red  Cross,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

SPRAGGON,  MRS.  SARAH,  State  Superintendent,  Women's  Free  Employment  Depart- 
ment, St.  Louis,  Mo. 

SPITZ,  JOSEPH,  Deputy  Commissioner,  Rehabilitation  Commission  and  State  De- 
partment of  Labor,  Newark,  N.  J. 

STANTON,  H.  L.,  Supervisor  of  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

STRUCK,  F.  THEODORE,  Assistant  Director,  Vocational  Education,  State  Department 
of  Public  Instruction,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

SULLIVAN,  OSCAR  M.,  State  Department  of  Education,  Director  of  Reeducation,  St. 
Paul,  Minn. 

THOMPSON,  L.  LUCILE,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

WALKER,  LOUISE,  Assistant  Director,  Medical  Social  Service,  A.  R.  C.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

WARD,  M.  H.,  Representing  Illinois  Manufacturers  Association,  East  Side  Manu- 
facturers Association,  Granite  City,  111. 

WHEELER,  MARY  L.,  Orthopedic  Social  Worker,  Barnes  Hospital,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

WHITE,  CATHERINE  E.,  S.  W.  Division,  A.  R.  C.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

WHITE,  ROBT.  H.,  Director  of  Civilian  Rehabilitation,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

WILFLEY,  0.  S.,  Medical  Officer,  U.  S.  V.  B.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

WOODRUFF,  C.  N.,  Detroit  Rehabilitation  Office,  Department  of  Public  Instruction,. 
Detroit,  Mich. 

WOODS,  SAM  E.,  Supervisor,  Industrial  Rehabilitation,  Jackson,  Miss. 

WORTH,  W.  E.,  Assistant  Manager,  Industrial  Relations  Department,  International 
Harvester  Co.,  Chicago,  111. 

WRIGHT,  J.  G.,  Director,  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 

YOUNG,  FAITH,  Statistician,  S.  W.  Division,  A.  R.  C.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


FIRST  NATIONAL  CONFERENCE  ON 

VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION 

OF  PERSONS  DISABLED  IN  INDUSTRY  OR  OTHERWISE 

May  15,  16.  17,  1922. 
ST.  LOUIS.  MO. 


GENERAL  MEETING. 

MAY   15 — 2   P.  M. 


CHAIRMAN:  Mr.  JOHN  AUBEL  KRATZ,  Chief,  Vocational 
Rehabilitation  Division,  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  It  affords  me  great  pleasure  that  I  have  the 
honor  of  opening  what  is  really  the  First  National  Conference  on 
Vocational  Rehabilitation.  Last  fall  we  held  three  regional  confer- 
ences in  Philadelphia,  St.  Paul,  and  Salt  Lake  City.  These  were 
very  well  attended.  To-day  we  begin  our  first  national  conference. 
In  beginning  I  want  to  say  that  there  is  every  justification  for  calling 
this  meeting.  Although  the  Federal  Board  has  called  it,  the  matter 
was  initiated  with  State  officials,  who  by  correspondence  and  in  per- 
sonal interview  said  they  thought  this  would  be  an  appropriate  time 
for  State  workers  to  convene  to  discuss  matters  of  interest  and  to 
pool  our  information  and  experiences,  to  get  together  and  meet  each 
other,  and,  above  all,  to  consider  matters  of  first  importance  in  our 
work.  We  have  been  engaged  in  the  work  of  industrial  rehabilita- 
tion— I  should  say  vocational  rehabilitation,  because  the  work  is  not 
confined  to  industry — and  I  like  to  think  that  although  we  have 
been  going  only  a  year  and  a  half  we  have  accomplished  much  which 
we  have  handed  on  to  the  States. 

If  you  will  study  the  program,  you  will  see  just  what  we  hope  to 
do.  We  believe  that  we  shall  all  go  away  much  better  in  thought, 
vision,  enthusiasm,  and  capacity  to  do  our  work.  There  are  very 
few  States  not  represented.  It  would  be  very  difficult  to  get  repre- 
sentatives from  all  of  the  34  cooperating  States  here.  Local  diffi- 
culties in  connection  with  travel  prevent  complete  representation. 

11 


12  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

Several  States,  however,  have  come  in  good  numbers,  and  there  are 
as  many  as  three  or  four  delegates  from  some  of  them.  We  have 
with  us  also  persons  from  allied  fields,  such  as  compensation,  social 
service,  and  the  like.  I  am  sure  more  will  come  later.  It  has  been 
very  gratifying  to  hear  from  so  many  people  regarding  attendance 
at  our  conference,  and  a  number  of  persons  have  expressed  regret 
that  they  could  not  come. 

I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the  registration  desk  in  the  rear  of 
the  room.  We  want  everyone  to  register,  so  we  may  know  who  you 
are  and  what  activity  you  represent. 

In  room  110  the  Hanger  Artificial  Limb  Co.  has  an  exhibit  of  arti- 
ficial arms  and  appliances.  This  exhibit  will  be  kept  open  through- 
out the  conference. 

I  do  not  want  to  let  this  opportunity  go  by  without  calling  atten- 
tion to  the  splendid  cooperation  that  the  State  folks  in  Missouri  have 
given  to  make  our  stay  here  pleasant  and  agreeable.  They  have 
done  everything  to  make  this  meeting  go,  and  to  them  will  be  due 
in  large  part  the  fine  success  that  I  am  sure  this  meeting  will  have. 

It  is  with  much  regret  that  I  can  not  introduce  to  you  Mr.  Sam 
A.  Baker,  superintendent  of  schools  of  Missouri.  He  has  sent  in  his 
stead  Mr.  George  Reavis,  who  will  now  speak  to  us. 

ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME. 

Mr.  GEOGE  W.  REAVIS,  Assistant  Superintendent  of  Schools, 
Missouri. 

Mr.  Chairman,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  when  I  visited  the  battle 
fields  of  Gettysburg  they  took  us  up  on  a  hill  where  the  big  guns 
were  located  in  that  conflict,  and  then  they  took  us  down  and  showed 
us  where  the  little  guns  were  located,  and  ever  since  that  time  I  have 
reserved  the  high  places  for  the  big  guns,  because  I  am  only  a  little 
gun  and  like  to  stand  down  on  the  level. 

Missouri  and  those  in  charge  of  the  vocational  rehabilitation 
work  are  immensely  and  earnestly  in  sympathy  with  the  movement. 
We  in  Missouri  have  not  done  as  much  as  some  of  the  other  States  in 
the  Union,  and  it  seems  fitting  to-day,  the  birthday  of  our  State  work, 
because  we  are  1  year  old,  that  we  should  have  this  convention  of 
workers  meet  here  to  discuss  with  us,  to  work  out  plans,  to  put  them 
in  operation,  and  to  make  our  work  better  as  the  years  go  on.  Your 
chairman  said  that  I  was  to  deliver  the  address  of  welcome.  This  is 
my  maiden  attempt  at  delivering  an  address  of  welcome,  but  let  me 
say  you  are  just  as  welcome  in  Missouri  as  the  flowers  in  May,  and 
after  you  have  had  your  sessions  here  and  after  you  have  closed  up 
your  work  I  hope  that  you  will  look  on  this  as  a  successful  meeting, 
and  I  hope  that  you  will  want  to  come  back  again  to  old  Missouri;  so 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  13 

I  want  to  extend  to  you  right  now  an  invitation  to  make  this  place 
your  meeting  place  next  year. 

You  are  engaged  in  a  new  work.  In  our  country  nothing  like  it  has 
been  attempted  before.  We  are  taking  in  this  State  and  in  this 
Nation  the  taxes  of  all  the  people — the  millionaires  and  the  washer- 
women— and  we  are  taking  that  money  and  using  it  for  the  purpose  of 
rehabilitating  handicapped  people,  putting  them  back  on  the  payroll, 
so  they  may  again  know  what  it  is  to  be  upstanding  men  and  women 
and  not  be  a  charge  upon  the  community.  It  is  up  to  us  whether  or 
not  we  shall  be  good  stewards  in  this  work,  or  fritter  away  the  taxes 
of  the  people  and  not  show  good  results. 

We  are  living  in  a  very  interesting  and  important  age.  We  are 
living  among  a  seething,  surging  mass  of  humanity  where  each  one 
is  trying  to  get  together  enough  to  feed  his  family.  There  are  many 
hazardous  positions  and  occupations,  many  dangerous  jobs  that 
somebody  must  do. 

It  is  up  to  you  to  give  light  to  the  individual,  down-hearted  and 
discouraged,  who  sees  nothing  but  darkness  ahead.  It  may  be  up 
to  you  to  inspire  that  individual  to  take  heart  and  try  again — to 
assure  him  that  there  is  a  new  day,  that  there  will  come  an  oppor- 
tunity in  the  future  to  make  good.  So  it  is  up  to  you  to  sit  as  com- 
forters in  a  home  of  sorrow,  to  work  with  the  people,  not  to  work 
with  the  millionaires  who  have  two  good  hands  and  two  good  eyes 
and  two  good  legs.  That  is  not  your  preference;  you  are  to  work 
with  the  unfortunate  class,  in  vocational  or  industrial  rehabilitation, 
to  put  them  back  again — take  the  fellow  that  is  down  and  out  and 
put  him  back  on  the  pay  roll  again.  How  is  this  to  be  done  ?  I 
believe  that  to  be  a  good  field  agent  one  must  be  as  wise  as  Solomon, 
one  must  be  as  big  as  his  job. 

We  have  had  a  few  cases  in  Missouri  where  the  agent  has  taken  the 
disabled  person,  carefully  investigated  the  case,  put  him  in  training 
where  he  has  responsibility,  and,  in  the  language  of  the  street,  he  has 
"made  good,"  he  appreciates  the  effort  of  the  people,  of  society, 
in  his  behalf.  We  find  another  class  of  folks;  you  can  pick  them 
up  and  help  them,  minister  to  them,  and  you  will  wake  up  to  find 
them  in  jail.  Then  you  have  that  class  which  seems  to  be  very 
difficult  to  work  with.  How  are  we  going  to  help  the  pencil  and 
shoe-string  sellers,  and  the  fellows  who  do  not  want  to  do  anything  ? 
How  are  we  going  to  inspire  them  to  do  anything  that  is  worth  while  ? 
I  think  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  field  agent  or  supervisor 
supervise. 

Super,  you  hear  that  word  often;  superman,  beyond  the  ordinary 
man.  If  you  measure  up  to  the  meaning  of  the  term  "superman,"  you 
have  the  ability  to  go  out  and  by  patient  toil  and  energy  to  work  out 
something  that  the  other  fellows  of  us  here  could  not  do.  It  is  neces- 


14  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

sary  that  you  secure  the  cooperation  of  all  the  agencies  around  about 
or  in  the  State,  and  so  it  seems  to  me  that  the  silver  thread  of  cooper- 
ation and  the  golden  cord  of  inspiration  must  characterize  you  in  your 
work,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  successful  supervisor,  or  successful 
field  agent,  is  the  one  who  is  going  to  tie  together  as  best  he  can  all 
the  cooperating  agencies  and  get  them  to  work  together  and  put  these 
unfortunates  back  on  the  pay  roll  so  that  they  may  look  the  whole 
world  in  the  face,  and  though  handicapped  they  may  feel  "I  am 
master  of  my  fate  and  captain  of  my  soul,  and  I  can  make  good,  and 
I  will  make  good."  That  is  a  hard  task,  and  I  know  you  will  get  dis- 
couraged when  you  see  a  few  people  in  whom  you  have  put  a  lot  of 
confidence  heedless  of  your  efforts.  You  become  discouraged  and  say 
"  What  is  the  use  ? "  But  remember  that  there  are  still  enough  folks 
in  the  world  who  will  appreciate  your  efforts.  Somewhere  in  this  big 
city  there  is  an  unfortunate  man  or  woman,  boy  or  girl,  of  employable 
age,  who  is  longing  for  the  very  help  that  you,  cooperating  with  the 
National  Government  and  the  State  government  and  the  city  govern- 
ment, are  able  and  ready  to  give.  When  you  can  find  that  individual 
who  is  just  longing  and  you  can  see  the  mist  come  into  the  eye  and  you 
can  see  the  devoted  wife  take  out  her  handkerchief,  you  have  an 
avenue  of  approach  and  you  can  help  that  person  in  some  way. 

I  am  going  to  leave  it  to  persons  who  are  mightier  than  I  to  speak 
of  the  ways  and  means  of  securing  cooperation  of  the  various  fra- 
ternal organizations,  but  I  believe  that  through  the  B.  P.  O.  E.'s,  the 
Masonic  clubs,  Rotary  clubs,  Kiwanis  clubs,  and  other  organizations 
we  can  work  out  a  scheme  of  cooperation  and  can  tie  them  together 
and  can  work  out  a  uniform  plan  so  that  what  is  being  done  in  one 
State  can  be  done  in  all  the  other  States  where  the  Federal  Board  is 
giving  aid  and  money.  We  ought  to  have  a  uniform  system  of  work- 
ing out  plans  that  will  be  most  effective,  just  as  we  have  in  the  voca- 
tional education. 

In  conclusion,  I  hope  that  you  will  have  a  good  meeting.  I  hope 
that  you  will  feel  when  you  go  back  to  your  States  that  you  have 
been  helped,  that  you  have  just  a  little  better  grasp  of  the  situation, 
and  you  feel  like  doing  just  a  little  more  next  year  than  you  did  last 
year,  in  order  that  somebody  somewhere  may  be  helped  and  lifted 
from  the  condition  where  he  is  to  a  life  of  usefulness  to  himself  and 
the  community.  We  live  in  a  dynamic  world.  We  do  not  live  in  a 
static  world.  May  we  improve  as  the  work  goes  on.  With  future 
conferences  like  this  we  will  know  how  to  go  on. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Paraphrasing  the  words  of  a  famous  statesman, 
this  is  a  conference  of  the  States,  by  the  States,  and  for  the  States. 
The  Federal  Board  has  called  this  conference,  but  it  is  your  conference. 
The  Federal  Board  is  taking  very  little  part.  The  staff  are  here 
ready  to  meet  you  in  between  times  and  to  discuss  the  problems  you 


VOCATIONAL  [REHABILITATION. 


15 


may  have  and  to  be  of  general  assistance.     I  would  now  like  to  have 
a  roll  call  of  the  States. 

(The  chairman  hereupon  called  the  roll  of  States,  to  which  repre- 
sentatives present  responded  as  follows:) 


Georgia: 

FORT  E.  LAND. 
Idaho: 

GEO.  E.  HORTON. 
Illinois: 

CHAS.  HENRY  SAYLOR. 
Indiana: 

LEONARD  B.  JOB. 

HENRY  F.  BURTON. 
Iowa: 

WILLIS  W.  GRANT. 
Louisiana: 

H.  G.  MARTIN. 
Massachusetts: 

R.  O.  SMALL. 

HERBERT  A.  DALLAS. 
Michigan: 

C.  N.  WOODRUFF. 
Minnesota: 

OSCAR  M.  SULLIVAN. 

KENNETH  0.  SNORTUM. 
Missouri: 

GEORGE  W.  REAVIS. 

EARNEST  L.  SCHNEIDER. 

DR.  C.  W.  LsBow. 

ERVINE  MEYER. 

LILLIAN  H.  DAVIS. 
Mississippi: 

F.  J.  HUBBARD. 

SAM  E.  WOODS. 
MRS.  MARY  S.  BAKER. 


Montana: 

Lloyd  A.  HENRY. 
Nebraska: 

C.  A.  FULMER. 

J.  R.  JEWELL. 
New  Jersey: 

JOSEPH  SPITZ. 
North  Carolina: 

H.  L.  STANTON. 
New  Mexico: 

D.  W.  ROCKEY. 
Ohio: 

W.  F.  SHAW. 
Pennsylvania: 

F.  THEODORE  STRUCK. 

S.  S.  RIDDLE. 
South  Dakota: 

MARGUERITE  LISON. 
Tennessee: 

ROBERT  H.  WHITE. 
West  Virginia: 

JOHN  C.  SHAW. 

LEE  OTT,  State  compensation  com- 
missioner. 

JOHN  F.  MOORE. 
Wisconsin: 

W.  F.  FAULKES. 

H.  V.  HARVEY. 
Oklahoma: 

CHAS.  W.  B  RILES. 


Chairman  KRATZ.  Mr.  Fidler,  who  was  to  have  been  the  next 
speaker  on  this  afternoon's  program,  is  unable  to  be  here.  We  have 
with  us,  however,  Mr.  J.  C.  Wright,  the  new  Director  of  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to 
introduce  Mr.  Wright  to  this  audience.  I  am  sure  you  know  him. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  Mr.  Chairman,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  wish  to  say 
to  you  that  it  is  with  much  regret  that  Mr.  Fidler,  vice  chairman  of 
the  board,  is  not  able  to  be  here  this  afternoon,  because  of  other  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Fidler  has  asked  me  to  read  his  paper. 


16  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

A  NATIONAL  PROGRAM  OF  VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION. 

H.  L.  FIDLER,  Vice  Chairman,  Federal  Board  for  Voca- 
tional Education. 

I  am  especially  happy  at  the  opportunity  of  participating  in  this 
conference.  Let  me  say  that  the  vocational  rehabilitation  move- 
ment has  a  deep  personal  as  well  as  public  meaning  to  me.  It 
touches  a  subject  which  has  been  the  background  of  my  own  life. 

It  is  only  a  few  years  ago  that  I  stepped  down  from  a  locomotive 
cab  over  here  on  the  Pennsylvania  Road.  Among  the  wage-working 
class  I  had  spent  all  the  formative  years  of  my  life.  And  if  there 
was  any  one  impression  which  I  took  away  with  me  from  my  work- 
ing experience  it  was  the  tremendous  need  among  workers  of  just 
such  an  agency  as  we  are  here  to-day  to  promote — it  was  the  need  of 
vocational  rehabilitation.  The  most  piteous  memories  which  I 
carry  of  my  old  railroad  coworkers  are  the  memories  of  the  broken, 
crippled  victims  of  industrial  accidents,  so  numerous  in  our  ranks. 
And  the  greatest  responsibility  which  I  feel  as  a  member  of  the 
Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  is  the  responsibility  to  use 
all  my  powers  to  perfect  this  great  rehabilitation  agency  to  the  point 
where  no  injured  worker  in  America  need  suffer  in  the  future  for  the 
want  of  reemployment. 

Truly  remarkable  has  been  the  progress  of  vocational  rehabili- 
tation during  the  last  24  months. 

Two  years  ago  the  vocational  rehabilitation  of  persons  disabled 
in  industry  or  otherwise  on  a  national  basis  was  only  a  project.  Be- 
fore June  2,  1920,  only  three  or  four  States  were  engaged  in  any 
public  program  of  restoring  disabled  workers  to  remunerative  em- 
ployment. To-day  34  States  are  engaged  in  this  task  in  cooperation 
with  the  Federal  Government.  The  others  are  fast  falling  in  line. 
Not  even  the  most  visionary  optimist  would  have  foretold  such  an 
expansion  in  two  brief  years. 

In  several  of  the  14  noncooperating  States  the  legislatures  have 
not  had  an  opportunity  to  pass  upon  an  acceptance  act.  In  two 
or  three  of  them  certain  technical  adjustments  will  be  made  making 
cooperation  with  us  possible.  Already  in  others  there  has  been 
aroused  a  sentiment  for  the  work  which  will  crystalize  into  action 
at  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislatures.  The  effect  of  example  and 
accomplishment  in  surrounding  States  can  not  be  long  withstood 
in  nonrehabilitation  States. 

But  let  us  contemplate  for  a  moment  on  what  has  been  done  to 
date  in  the  34  States  cooperating.  A  conception  of  its  present 
magnitude  may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  the  administrative 
staff  in  these  States  numbers  125  persons.  This  number  means 
much  more,  however,  when  we  realize  that  this  staff  has  many 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  17 

times  its  own  number  of  assistants.  A  great  army  of  helpers  is  re- 
cruited through  cooperation  with  other  State  departments,  such  as 
Workmen's  Compensation,  Education,  Health,  Labor,  Welfare, 
and  with  numerous  social  agencies,  to  say  nothing  of  the  medical 
profession,  and  men  of  business,  as  well  as  cooperating  individuals. 
For  example,  one  State  with  a  staff  of  only  five  members  has  set 
up  cooperative  relations  with  over  60  municipalities.  Almost 
every  week  information  comes  to  us  from  the  States  that  some  new 
relationship  has  been  established,  making  for  a  better  and  more 
extended  service. 

Looking  at  accomplishments  from  another  angle,  we  see  in  the* 
period  from  July  1,  1921,  to  November  15,  1921,  an  increase  in  the  live 
roll  of  the  States  of  240  per  cent.  Although  exact  figures  will  not 
be  available,  before  the  close  of  the  present  fiscal  year,  we  believe 
by  July  1,  the  live  roll  will  number  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand  cases. 
Figuring  on  a  basis  of  from  four  to  five  months  of  service  to  each 
case,  there  will  have  been  assisted  during  the  present  fiscal  year 
almost  50,000  disabled  persons  in  the  34  cooperating  States.  I 
hesitate  to  make  an  estimate  of  what  the  live  roll  of  cases  at  the  end 
of  the  year  1924  will  be,  but  judging  from  the  past  accomplishments 
and  taking  into  consideration  the  momentum  that  will  come  by 
way  of  increased  experience  and  development  of  new  methods,  the 
number  of  disabled  persons  assisted  by  the  States  during  the  year 
1924  will  approximate  90,000  cases.  Vocational  rehabilitation  is 
decidedly  on  the  map,  and  by  the  close  of  the  year  1924,  the  end  of 
the  experimental  period  assigned  by  Congress,  it  is  my  opinion  that 
vocational  rehabilitation  will  be  as  important  a  national  and  a 
State  movement  as  is  vocational  education  or  any  other  movement 
of  social  progress  and  welfare. 

I  would  also  like  to  say  in  passing  that  the  strength  of  the  oca- 
tional  rehabilitation  movement  lies  in  its  appeal  to  all  industrial 
groups.  It  is  not  a  mooted  program.  It  is  an  unchallenged  program, 
to  which  capital  as  well  as  labor  can  give  hearty  support.  It  enjoys 
the  pleasant  singularity  of  being  one  of  those  few  movements  in 
which  the  employers  and  employees  can  unite  their  enthusiasm,  for 
it  touches  the  cord  of  humanity  which  lies  in  everyone. 

This  meeting  at  which  we  are  now  in  attendance  is  the  first  session 
of  the  fir's t  national  conference  of  vocational  rehabilitation  workers 
and  representatives  from  a  number  of  cooperating  agencies.  To-day 
and  for  the  next  two  days  we  are  to  make  rehabilitation  history. 
What  we  accomplish  here  will,  I  trust,  in  no  small  way  affect  the 
future  of  the  great  social  program  in  which  we  are  engaged.  We 
have  come  together  from  every  section  of  this  great  United  States  to 
discuss  ways  and  means  of  promoting  and  advancing  the  work  of  the 
14765—22 2 


18  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

reclamation  of  the  disabled.  The  conservation  of  the  Nation's  man- 
power in  this  time  of  stress  is  a  matter  of  no  small  concern.  To-day 
the  thought  of  the  great  minds  of  industry  is  pointed  toward  great 
production  with  little  waste.  This  is,  of  course,  a  worthy  purpose, 
but  coupled  with  it  should  be  the  desire  to  accomplish  large  pro- 
duction with  a  minimum  hazard  and  injury  to  labor,  and  a  maximum 
of  return  to  them  in  safety,  physical  comfort,  and  happiness. 

I  am  convinced  that  to  this  high  purpose  and  endeavor  the  move- 
ment of  vocational  rehabilitation  will  make  a  very  substantial  con- 
tribution. 

It  would  be  entirely  out  of  place  for  me  to  attempt  to  convince  this 
audience  that  more  and  better  education  will  be  the  cure  of  many 
of  our  social  ills.  The  training  of  young  men  and  women,  and  of 
older  men  and  women  for  that  matter,  to  use  their  hands  in  the 
skilled  trades  and  occupations  of  our  modern  industrial  world  will  go 
far  to  build  safe  and  sure  foundation  for  a  social  structure  that  will 
endure.  But  although  the  wheels  of  industry  are  being  made  to  turn 
more  safely,  and  although  the  compensation  laws  of  our  country  are 
gradually  being  made  more  comprehensive  and  beneficial,  disabling 
accidents  will  always  be  with  us,  and  workmen's  compensation  will 
always  be  inadequate.  Of  a  necessity  the  movements  of  safety, 
accident  prevention,  insurance,  and  compensation  will  always  need  to 
be  supplemented  by  a  program  of  restoration  to  industry  through  the 
media  of  expert  advisement,  skillful  guidance,  and  efficient  coopera- 
tion by  a  rehabilitation  service. 

The  program  has  been  launched.  We  are  here  to  pool  our  informa- 
tion, exchange  our  experiences,  and  to  develop  new  plans  and  methods 
for  furthering  this  great  national  program  of  vocational  rehabilitation 
in  which  we  are  engaged. 

It  is  the  hope  of  my  Board  that  your  conference  will  accomplish  big 
results. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  As  I  sat  here  this  afternoon  and  listened  to  what 
has  already  been  said  I  could  not  help  but  think  of  some  of  the  phases 
of  your  program  that  are  likejbhe  program  of  improving  foremanship. 
You  might  well  adopt  a  slogan  and  let  that  slogan  be  "  save  the  man." 
Down  in  the  coal  mines  of  our  coal-mining  districts  the  men  are 
required  to  examine  their  working  places  continuously  to  note  if  these 
places  are  safe.  We  think  of  mining  as  a  hazardous  occupation.  It 
is.  We  must  think  of  the  men  working  down  there  as  men  to  be 
protected  and  saved.  When  you  get  a  group  of  foremen  together 
and  ask  whether  it  is  worth  while  to  save  the  man,  to  save  even  a 
man  who,  because  some  act  of  his  own  has  been  careless,  has  caused 
an  accident  resulting  in  an  injury  to  human  life,  those  foremen  will 
tell  you  that  they  are  responsible  for  trying  to  save  the  man  in  ev( 


every 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  19 

case.  If  the  man  has  been  careless,  the  question  is  what  shall  be 
done  with  him — shall  he  be  fired,  or  shall  he  be  counseled  and  re- 
tained in  the  service.  Even  as  a  matter  of  business  economy,  to  save 
expense  on  account  of  labor  turnover,  it  is  not  an  exception  but 
the  rule  for  foremen  in  positions  of  that  sort  to  say  that  they  are 
responsible  for  saving  the  man  first,  and  that  they  will  not  fire  him, 
except  when  they  can  not  find  a  way  to  overcome  his  habit  of  care- 
lessness. If  the  man  through  his  own  carelessness  has  suffered  a 
physical  disability,  he  still  possesses  potential  value  as  a  skilled 
workman  or  as  an  executive,  or  is  capable  in  some  line  according  to 
the  capacity  in  which  he  has  been  working.  He  still  possesses  that 
potential  value,  and  the  question  is,  Is  the  man  worth  saving  ?  We 
say,  "yes." 

From  the  standpoint  of  a  comprehensive  national  program,  it 
seems  to  me  that  your  particular  program  can  well  be  set  up  in  three 
or  four  stages,  comprising  the  stages  we  found  it  necessary  to  go 
through  in  the  preliminaries  of  vocational  education.  The  National 
Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Vocational  Education,  together  with 
conferences  that  were  held  in  various  parts  of  the  country  where 
groups  of  10,  20,  or  30  people  got  together,  established  a  certain 
philosophy  and  set  up  certain  principles  which  in  five  years  of  ad- 
ministration of  the  Smith-Hughes  Act  we  have  found  little  occasion 
to  change.  Those  principles  had  to  do  with  objectives — what  we 
were  trying  to  do,  what  was  the  purpose  of  vocational  education, 
how  were  we  going  to  set  up  a  program.  The  question  of  schools, 
of  teacher  training,  and  all  the  problems  hi  industrial,  agricultural, 
and  home-economics  education  were  involved.  This  social  under- 
taking called  for  the  establishment  of  various  programs,  the  prepara- 
tion of  State  plans,  and  the  organization  of  schools  within  the  States. 

The  passage  of  the  vocational  rehabilitation  act,  however,  pre- 
sented a  somewhat  different  situation,  in  that  nobody,  or  at  most  very 
few,  had  proceeded  to  study  the  problems  with  which  you  are  con- 
fronted in  a  similar  way.  You  are  pioneers.  You  are  beginning  at 
the  beginning.  While  it  is  true  that  certain  of  the  States  have  had 
experience  in  compensation,  nevertheless,  in  my  opinion  the  under- 
taking is  yet  to  be  established  upon  a  basis  of  agreed-upon  and  well- 
founded  principles.  And  that  is  the  problem  you  are  up  against. 
The  act  sets  up  certain  requirements,  and  after  these  requirements  are 
met,  the  State  plans  provided,  etc.,  it  becomes  somebody's  responsi- 
bility to  find  out  where  these  people  are  who  need  rehabilitating. 
You  must  locate  your  cases,  and  then  these  vocationally  disabled 
persons  must  be  placed  in  positions  where  you  believe  they  will  be 
rehabilitated. 

tYou  may  disagree  with  me,  but  I  believe  that  is  about  where  you 
e  to-day.     You  have  gone  through  the  stage  of  how  to  get  a  State 


20  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

to  cooperate,  how  to  set  up  a  State  plan,  how  organizations  can  be 
provided  in  the  State  to  administer  and  cooperate,  and  you  know 
how  to  locate  cases  throughout  the  State  and  get  them  placed  in  some 
sort  of  occupation  in  which  it  is  believed  they  can  be  retrained. 

The  real  problem  is  giving  them  the  training  which  fits  them  for 
the  occupation  for  which  you  wish  to  train  them,  so  that  they  become 
full-fledged  wage  earners.  A  man  is  placed  down  in  a  coal  mine  as  a 
substation  operator — placed  there  perhaps  because  he  has  one  arm 
missing  and  because  the  employer  reserves  that  sort  of  place  for  handi- 
1  capped  men.  If  the  man  has  no  knowledge  of,  for  example,  electricity, 
he  may  need  a  considerable  amount  of  help,  attention,  and  training  in 
order  that  his  fellow  workmen  or  the  foreman  may  not  look  upon  him 
as  a  person  in  a  position  reserved  for  unfortunates,  or  as  a  recipient 
of  charity.  I  should  like  to  see  that  man  placed  in  a  position  where 
he  can  hold  his  head  up  among  his  fellow  men,  so  that  the  fact  that 
he  has  only  one  arm  will  make  him  no  different  from  his  co workers. 
That  is  the  problem  that  we  have  before  us  to-day. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Mr.  Coman,  of  California,  will  not  be  here  this 
afternoon,  and  Mr.  Job,  of  Indiana,  has  kindly  consented  to  speak  to 
us  on  "  Reciprocity  among  States  in  vocational  rehabilitation." 

RECIPROCITY  AMONG  STATES  IN  VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION 

WORK. 

LEONARD  B.   JOB,   State  Supervisor  Vocational  Rehabilitation, 
Indianapolis,  Ind. 

I  came  down  here  with  the  impression  that  Mr.  Coman,  of  Cali- 
fornia, would  tell  you  all  about  reciprocity  between  States  and  that 
I  might  be  called  upon  to  supplement  his  address  by  a  few  remarks 
concerning  local  conditions  in  Indiana.  Mr.  Kratz  wired  me  a  few 
days  ago,  asking  if  I  would  say  something  about  reciprocity  at  this 
conference.  I  had  no  idea  that  I  was  to  play  any  important  part  in 
this  performance  and  am,  therefore,  wholly  unprepared. 

I  can  only  hope  to  raise  a  few  points  which,  I  believe,  are  worthy 
of  discussion  at  this  tune.  I  hope  those  present  will  consider  these 
points  and  discuss  them  at  length. 

1.  Probably  the  first  and  most  important  way  in  which  States  can 
help  each  other  is  by  investigating  cases.  It  often  happens  that 
citizens  of  one  State  are  injured  in  another  State.  They  come  under 
the  rehabilitation  service  of  their  home  State,  but  the  rehabilitation 
workers  find  it  impossible  to  travel  in  other  States  to  make  the  neces- 
sary investigation.  Just  as  frequently  disabled  persons  wander  from 
their  home  State  in  search  of  employment  or  for  other  reasons. 
When  they  hear  of  the  rehabilitation  service  they  wish  to  return 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  21 

home  and  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity.     This  affords  an  excel- 
lent chance  for  the  States  to  get  together  in  this  work. 

2.  The  question  of  medical  examination  has  already  come  up  in 
Indiana.     A  man  injured  in  Michigan  came  to  Indiana  to  work.     He 
made  application  for  training  in  Michigan.     A  medical  examination 
was  required.     I  secured  the  examination  and  forwarded  the  report 
to  the  supervisor  in  Michigan.     The  cost  of  the  examination  was 
borne  by  the  Indiana  division.     A  working  relation  of  this  sort 
between  States  is  of  great  aid.     It  costs  but  little  and  is  of  real  value. 

3.  New  cases  coming  to  the  supervisor  in  one  State  often  belong  to 
other  States.    Such  cases  can  easily  be  referred  to  the  State  in  which 
they  belong.     Such  service  has  a  great  possibility. 

4.  A  fourth  point  which  is  of  great  importance  is  that  of  broad- 
casting   infonnation    concerning    desirable    training    opportunities. 
Some  of  the  men  present  were  in  soldier  rehabilitation  work  and 
have  some  knowledge  of  the  training  opportunities  in  other  States. 
All  of  you,  however,  do  not  have  this  information  and  often  need 
information  concerning  possibilities  in  some  lines  of  work.     If  it  is 
at  all  possible  we  should  train  our  people  in  our  own  State.    This  is 
not  always  possible.     We  have  no  place  in  Indiana  where  we  can 
secure  training  in  watchmaking.    We  therefore  send  our  people  to 
Bradley  Institute  at  Peoria,  111.     Training  opportunities  which  are 
especially  good  should  be  widely  advertised  by  the  State  service, 
because  some  States  are  much  more  fortunate  than  others  in  the 
variety  of  training  institutions  and  of  industrial  plants. 

In  Indiana  we  have  a  shoe  repair  shop  which  conducts  a,  course  in 
shoe  repair  work.  The  course  covers  from  six  to  eight  weeks.  I 
know  of  places  which  devote  from  one  to  three  years  in  teaching  the 
trade.  It  is  not  at  all  necessary  to  take  such  a  long  period.  It  can 
be  done  in  eight  weeks  or  less.  Men  so  trained  can  get  jobs  paying 
at  least  $20  per  week.  It  has  been  done  in  Indiana. 

5.  A  fifth  point  which  I  would  like  to  have  discussed  is  that  of 
having  rehabilitation  agents  in  other  States  follow  up  cases  in  training. 
We  have  men  in  training  in  two  of  our  neighboring  States.     It  is 
obvious  that  we  can  not  follow  up  these  people  personally.     There 
are  in   training  in  Indiana   to-day  men  from   three  other  States. 
We  are  gladly  following  up  these  men  and  making  reports  to  the 
proper  supervisor.     It  entails  no  extra  work  as  we  have  some  of  our 
men  in  the  same  institution.     It  is  my  opinion  that  this  can  be  made 
a  very  valuable  service.     If  Mr.  Shaw,  of  Ohio,  sends  a  man  to  the 
Dodge  Institute  of  Telegraphy,  at  Valparaiso,  Ind.,  he  can  send  me 
the  man's  name  and  I  will  gladly  supervise  the  case.     He  should  keep 
me  informed  of  the  man's  withdrawal,  however,  if  he  leaves  the  school 
before  training  is  completed.     Such  machinery  is  very  simple,  and 
the  results  should  be  worth  while. 


22  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

6.  The  cost  of  service  rendered  persons  from  other  States  might 
well  claim  our  attention  for  a  moment.  It  is  my  opinion  that 
supervision  or  follow  up  and  cost  of  medical  examination  can  well 
be  met  by  the  State  in  which  the  work  is  done  or  the  examination 
secured.  Tuition  costs  should,  of  course,  be  met  by  the  State  in 
which  the  man  claims  residence.  From  the  Federal  viewpoint  I 
can  see  no  reason  for  objection  to  any  agreement  reached  between 
States,  as  the  main  point  is  that  the  Federal  dollar  be  matched. 
It  makes  no  difference  whether  it  is  a  Hoosier  dollar  or  a  Buckeye 
dollar. 

I  have  enumerated  six  phases  of  rehabilitation  work  and  have 
attempted  to  sketch,  very  briefly,  the  manner  in  which  States  can 
render  service  to  each  other.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  an  expression 
from  other  State  supervisors  on  these  points  or  any  other  wa}Ts  in 
which  a  State  may  be  of  service  to  its  neighbors. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

Mr.  REAVIS.  What  does  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  think  of  cor- 
respondence schools  ? 

Mr.  JOB.  I  do  not  wish  to  take  a  stand  on  the  question  of  corre- 
spondence courses.  I  use  them,  I  subscribe  to  several  of  them,  but 
I  will  say  that  in  only  a  small  percentage  of  cases  do  the  results 
justify  the  costs. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  There  was  a  question  raised  about  which  I  would 
like  to  know  more.  In  his  statement  about  doing  the  work  of 
another  State — I  should  like  to  know  the  mechanics  of  that.  If  a 
man  who  lives  in  Indiana  moves  to  Ohio,  do  you  give  him  training, 
or  do  you  mean  that  the  Ohio  people  do  this  for  you,  if  you  reim- 
burse them  ? 

Mr.  JOB.  In  Indiana  the  cost  of  training  has  been  borne  by  the 
State  sending  the  man  to  Indiana.  We  have  sent  men  outside  the 
State  and  we  have  paid  the  cost.  As  to  the  question  of  a  man  in- 
jured in  Indiana  and  moved  to  Ohio  when  trained  under  the  Indiana 
law,  if  that  man  thinks  he  will  some  day  come  back  to  Indiana  and 
live,  I  would  not  hesitate  to  give  him  training  in  Ohio  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  Shaw  and  pay  for  his  training  out  of  Indiana 
funds.  If  he  had  been  injured  in  Indiana  five  years  ago  and  moved 
to  Ohio,  I  would  consider  that  Mr.  Shaw's  problem  and  not  mine. 
He  has  been  out  of  the  State  long  enough  to  be  considered  a  resident 
of  the  other  State.  We  do  not  consider  the  question  whether  the 
man  received  his  injury  in  Indiana.  If  a  man  has  sustained  an  in- 
jury in  Indiana,  we  will  train  him.  We  will  pay  the  cost  of  the  train- 
ing, no  matter  where  he  was  injured.  If  he  was  injured  in  another 
State,  came  to  Indiana  for  six  months,  wanted  to  go  back  to  his  home 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  23 

State,  I  would  be  inclined  to  feel  that  that  is  not  our  job.  Have  I 
answered  your  question  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  think  you  have.  I  am  raising  certain  questions 
for  the  purpose  of  discussion.  Each  State  assumes  the  responsibility 
for  taking  care  of  the  people  who  are  living  or  residing  in  the  State. 
What  is  everybody's  job  is  nobody's  job,  and  perhaps  you  feel  that 
this  fellow  who  was  hurt  in  Indiana  and  goes  to  Ohio  should  be 
retrained  in  Ohio  and  that  is  Mr.  Shaw's  job,  and  Mr.  Shaw  might 
feel  that  this  was  Mr.  Job's.  Is  there  any  ground  for  common 
understanding  ? 

Mr.  FAULKES.  Would  not  that  be  largely  defined  by  the  State 
law?  In  Wisconsin  "any  physically  handicapped  person  who  has 
been  domiciled  within  the  State  for  one  year  or  more,  or  who  resides 
in  the  State  and  shall  so  reside  at  the  time  of  becoming  physically 
handicapped,  may  apply'  to  the  board  for  advice  and  assistance 
relative  to  his  rehabilitation."  I  had  a  very  worthy  case,  a  man 
with  two  legs  cut  off,  but  because  of  the  provision  of  our  act  we  can 
not  help  him.  As  I  was  listening  to  Mr.  Job,  I  thought  it  would  be 
a  very  nice  thing  if  we  had  a  digest  from  the  Federal  Board  of  all 
the  State  acts.  We  would  then  know  how  far  each  State  could  go. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  I  wish  to  state  in  response  to  the  suggestion  of 
Mr.  Faulkes  that  such  a  bulletin  is  about  to  be  undertaken  by  the 
Federal  Board.  With  regard  to  the  whole  question  of  eligibility, 
the  matter  is  decided  in  the  last  analysis  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  State  law.  For  instance,  if  your  State  act  pro- 
vides that  you  can  not  rehabilitate  a  man  unless  he  is  a  citizen  of 
your  State,  or  unless  he  has  been  a  resident  of  your  State  for,  say, 
six  months  or  a  year,  then  you  must  be  guided  by  the  act. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  Regarding  State  acts,  it  would  be  valuable  to  us 
if  we  had  a  digest  or  statement  of  the  laws  of  each  State.  How  long 
does  a  man  have  to  reside  in  a  State  before  he  becomes  a  charge  on 
the  State  ?  We  have  had  that  arise  in  Minnesota.  We  undertook  a 
case  a  month  or  two  ago,  attempted  to  rehabilitate  this  man,  and  we 
had  the  local  charity  associations  camping  on  our  trail,  because  they 
claimed  we  were  encouraging  a  person  to  stay  in  Minnesota  and  thus 
become  a  charge  upon  the  State.  That  becomes  a  question  of  con- 
siderable importance,  especially  where  you  are  going  to  organize 
maintenance.  These  people  will  want  to  know — are  you  encouraging 
the  man  to  become  rehabilitated  or  are  you  encouraging  some  one  to 
become  a  public  charge  ?  That  should  all  be  considered — how  long 
a  time  must  a  person  have  resided  in  a  State  before  he  becomes  a 
charge  on  that  State  ? 

Mr.  WHITE.  I  was  just  going  to  suggest  that  the  Federal  Board 
get  that  digest  as  to  requirements  for  eligibility  in  the  various  States 
and  pool  that  information  and  submit  it  to  the  States.  You  will 


24  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

find  34  laws,  34  different  requirements  of  eligibility.  In  Tennessee 
a  person  must  have  resided  in  the  State  for  one  year  in  order  to  get 
rehabilitation  training. 

Mr.  RE  A  vis.  Is  that  requirement  for  voting  or  eligibility  ? 

Mr.  WHITE.  Eligibility.  If  a  boy  has  lived  in  Tennessee  for  one 
year.  It  has  nothing  to  do  with  suffrage. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Has  Mr.  Riddle  anything  to  say  ? 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  I  would  like  to  speak  on  the  residence  point.  Our 
rehabilitation  act  does  not  set  up  residence  requirements.  Our  State 
constitution  does  define  conditions  of  citizenship.  In  the  case  of 
rehabilitation.,  however,  we  look  into  the  applicant's  intentions  as  to 
residence.  A  man's  family  is  located  in  Virginia;  he  temporarily 
comes  into  Pennsylvania.  Where  he  has  always  worked  we  presume 
he  is  going  again.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  had  men  from  for- 
eign countries  come  into  our  State,  but  they  are  going  to  remain. 
Any  person  who  has  been  in  the  State  and  has  indicated  his  inten- 
tion to  remain,  provided,  of  course,  we  are  satisfied  Pennsylvania 
will  be  his  permanent  home,  is  entitled  to  rehabilitation.  A  lot  of 
common  sense  is  necessary,  and  you  will  have  a  lot  of  twilight-zone 
cases  and  will  have  to  stretch  things  a  bit  and  view  the  legislation  in 
its  broadest  interpretation.  If  we  get  it  standardized,  we  are  going 
to  get  into  difficult  straits.  We  can  not  overcome  definite  legisla- 
tion entirely;  we  ought  not  to  set  up  standards  to  interpret  legisla- 
tion. In  Pennsylvania  the  State  legislature  restricts  us  more  in  its 
(State's)  expenditures  than  in  the  case  of  Federal  expenditures. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  I  am  going  to  appoint  a  committee  to  consider 
these  questions.  Here  is  a  man  who  has  started  rehabilitation  in 
the  State  of  Indiana,  and  for  some  good  and  feasible  reason,  not 
some  idiosyncrasy,  he  needs  to  go  to  another  State  and  take  up 
rehabilitation.  If  that  State  had  set  out  in  its  plans  the  requirements 
for  eligibility,  that  man  would  have  to  wTait  until  he  met  the  State 
requirements.  I  am  going  to  ask  Messrs.  White,  Sullivan,  and  Job 
to  put  on  paper  for  some  future  meeting  some  statements  they  think 
the  Federal  Board  ought  to' take  up  at  this  conference.  Does  that 
meet  with  the  approval  of  this  body  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  In  this  connection  I  think  it  would  help  the  Federal 
Board  if  this  committee  would  make  the  specific  suggestion  that  a 
digest  of  State  laws  be  made. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Has  anyone  a  specific  question  he  would  like  to 
ask? 

Mr.  JOB.  Along  the  line  of  the  interpretation  of  the  law  and  the 
resident  requirements,  I  do  not  want  to  give  the  impression  that  we 
have  laid  down  any  rules  regarding  the  length  of  residence.  The 
length  of  residence  is  not  mentioned  in  our  law.  The  State  board  of 
education  has  }ret  to  make  its  first  ruling  with  regard  to  the  inter- 


•dof 
Her- 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  25 

pretation  of  our  law.  We  have  no  ruling  of  any  kind  from  the 
attorney  general  or  the  State  board  of  education.  They  have  left 
it  to  those  in  charge  to  do  what  is  best  for  the  cause  in  order  to  put 
the  job  over. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  The  next  speaker  on  the  program  is  Mr.  S.  S. 
Riddle,  who  will  discuss  "  Rehabilitation  of  persons  with  type  dis- 
abilities." 

REHABILITATION  OF  PERSONS  WITH  TYPE  DISABILITIES. 

Mr.  S.  S.  RIDDLE,  Chief,  Bureau  of  Rehabilitation,  Depart- 
ment of  Labor  and  Industry,  Pennsylvania. 

After  I  had  read  over  the  subject  assigned  to  me,  to  tell  the  truth, 
I  reached  the  conclusion  that  I  had  little  to  say  on  type  disabilities. 
Experience  of  the  Pennsylvania  Bureau  of  Rehabilitation  tends  to 
show  that  it  is  difficult  to  consider  specific  task  lists  of  employment 
possibilities  in  connection  with  specific  types  of  disabilities.  For 
instance,  we  have  vision  defects,  arm  and  leg  amputations,  internal 
injuries,  injuries  without  limitation.  As  one  able-bodied  person 
may  be  a  better  skater  than  another  able-bodied  person,  just  so 
may  one  disabled  person  without  one  hand  or  two  hands  be  per- 
fectly eligible  for  a  certain  type  of  employment  for  which  another 
person  with  the  same  disability  exactly  could  not  even  be  considered. 
Each  rehabilitation  case  presents  its  own  physical,  economic,  train- 
ing, and  employment  problem,  and  must  be  considered  individually 
in  the  light  of  all  factors  affecting  it  for  complete  success  of  a  rehabil- 
itation program.  Mr.  Delfino,  one  of  our  blind  cooperating  agents, 
has  said  that  a  blind  man  could  do  anything  but  paint  a  picture. 

There  are  certain  limitations  that  are,  of  course,  imposed  upon  all 
disabilities.  There  are  far  more  important  factors  involved  in  rehabili- 
tation than  the  actual  type  of  disabilities.  Some  of  these  factors  are 
age,  education,  mental  capacity,  physical  capability,  courage,  will 
power,  ambition,  the  possibilities  of  employment  in  the  neighborhood 
where  the  person  is  going  to  live,  domestic  responsibility,  and  accom- 
panying economic  pressure.  There  are  all  sorts  of  problems  which 
almost  prevent  their  being  classified  under  types.  A  year  ago  I  was 
very  strong  for  surveys  that  told  us  for  instance  what  one-armed  men 
could  do  in  shoe  factories.  They  are  of  value.  I  think,  however, 
that  it  is  best  to  show  what  happens  in  the  case.  We  try  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, so  far  as  possible,  to  meet  the  disabled  persons  on  their  own 
ground.  We  try  to  get  them  enthused.  We  try  to  meet  them  on  a 
common  level.  We  try  to  appeal  to  them  in  a  matter  of  fact  way. 
We  try  to  get  all  of  them  to  realize  as  well  as  they  can  what  lies  before 
them  and  to  make  the  best  of  what  ability  they  have  in  the  work 
that  seems,  in  the  light  of  all  circumstances,  best  suited  to  them. 


26  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

In  order  that  you  may  see  what  we  in  Pennsylvania  have  done  for 
different  kinds  of  cases,  I  am  going  to  cite  a  number  of  cases,  of  which 
I  have  photographs  here. 

A  charge  of  powder  being  tamped  in  a  hole  in  a  clay  mine  in  central 
Pennsylvania  in  July,  1917,  exploded  and  not  only  destroyed  the  sight 
of  -  — ,  a  sturdy  American,  27  years  of  age,  but  changed  his  whole 
future.  He  had  quit  high  school  when  17  years  of  ag&,  gone  to  work  as 
a  railroad  fireman,  and  later  entered  the  mines.  To-day  he  is  a 
licensed  insurance  salesman,  established  in  a  city  in  central  Pennsyl- 
vania, after  receiving,  through  the  assistance  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Bureau  of  Rehabilitation,  one  year  of  instruction  in  an  institute  for 
the  blind  and  another  year  in  intensive  study  of  insurance  at  the 
Wharton  School  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  under  direct 
instruction  of  Prof.  S.  S.  Huebner,  a  national  authority  on  insurance. 

A  heavy  bolt  falling  from  the  superstructure  of  a  merchant  ship  in 
course  of  construction  on  the  ways  of  a  Pennsylvania  shipyard  not 
only  fractured  the  skull  of  -  — ,  29  years  of  age,  a  naturalized 
American,  Montenegrin  born,  but  after  three  years  was  a  direct 
result  of  this  man's  holding  a  responsible  position  with  a  large  com- 
mercial organization  in  Pennsylvania — a  position  which  is  an  avenue 
to  greater  work  in  which  his  knowledge  of  a  number  of  European 
languages  in  addition  to  English  will  be  a  great  asset.  Two  years  of 
intensive  study  in  a  commercial  school,  based  upon  his  elementary 
education  in  his  native  language,  accomplished  the  final  result  with 
the  aid  of  the  bureau  of  rehabilitation. 

When  an  industrial  accident  caused  the  amputation  of  the  left  leg 
of  -  — ,  an  18-year  old  boy  in  a  Pennsylvania  city,  he  tried  a  num- 
ber of  tasks  with  indifferent  success,  registered  with  the  Pennsylvania 
Bureau  of  Rehabilitation,  was  placed  in  employment  training  with  a 
large  baking  company  in  a  task  which  he  found  suitable  and  con- 
genial, and  to-day  is  a  regularly  qualified  and  salaried  employee  at  a 
skilled  task  in  a  large  bakery. 

One  of  the  ropes  snubbing  a  barge  at  a  Pittsburgh  wharf  on  the 
Allegheny  Rivei;  in  1918  caught  the  right  leg  of  -  — ,  a  19-year  old 
"  wharf  hand,"  crushing  the  leg  so  that  it  had  to  be  amputated.  The 
boy  was  provided  with  an  artificial  leg  by  the  Pennsylvania  Bureau 
of  Rehabilitation,  put  into  commercial  school  for  a  time,  and  later  at 
his  insistent  request  given  training  in  barbering.  He  is  to-day  a 
qualified  and  successful  workman  in  his  new  task. 

Two  young  women  in  the  same  central  Pennsylvania  city  lost  their 
right  hands  while  operating  presses  in  industrial  establishments. 
They  have  each  been  trained  for  clerical  work,  and  to-day  are  in 
more  congenial  and  remunerative  employment,  with  better  future 
prospects,  than  before  they  were  injured. 


* 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  27 

A  young  man,  19  years  of  age,  lost  both  legs  while  working  as  a 
brakeman  on  the  railroad  in  July,  1919.  The  bureau  of  rehabilitation 
assisted  him  by  training  in  a  commercial  school,  and  he  is  now  working 
as  a  clerk  for  a  large  car  manufacturing  company  in  Pennsylvania,  at 
a  salary  of  $80  a  month,  and  is  happy  in  his  work,  and  his  employer 
is  well  pleased  with  him. 

This  }7oung  man,  24  years  of  age,  lost  his  left  leg  and  sustained 
injuries  to  two  fingers  on  his  left  hand  in  a  mine  accident.  He  was 
entered  by  the  bureau  of  rehabilitation  in  a  school  of  telegraph}^, 
and  is  now  back  with  the  same  coal  company  where  he  was  injured. 

We  have  another  case  where  the  man  suffered  the  loss  of  a  leg,  and 
is  successfully  working  as  superintendent  of  a  building.  He  finds 
little  difficulty  in  performing  the  most  unusual  tasks  in  his  work, 
although  his  right  leg  was  amputated  above  the  knee. 

In  Wilkes-Barre  we  have  had  considerable  success  with  getting  a 
couple  of  young  blind  men  to  learn  to  walk  around  by  themselves  to 
sell  brushes.  Those  small  sales  made  considerable  success.  With 
broom  making  we  have  had  little  success.  You  take  the  individual 
who  is  going  to  live  at  home,  install  a  broom-making  machine,  and 
you  have  the  proposition  of  selling.  We  have  one  man  making 
baskets.  We  have  established  a  direct  line  of  communication 
between  him  and  a  department  store.  There  has  been  very  little 

op  in  his  sales;  he  has  marketed  through  that  channel. 

A  young  man  came  back  from  France  without  a  scratch.  He 
entered  an  industrial  establishment  upon  his  return  and  met  with 
an  industrial  accident  which  caused  the  loss  of  his  left  hand.  He  is 
being  trained  in  a  commercial  school  for  clerical  work. 

This  man  came  to  us  and  we  asked  him  what  he  would  like  to  do. 
He  said  he  would  like  to  be  a  baker.  He  was  cleaning  the  dough 
mixer  one  day  and  through  his  failure  to  shut  off  the  power  before 
cleaning  the  machine,  he  lost  two  of  the  fingers  of  his  left  hand.  He 
attempted  to  get  compensation  for  the  loss  of  these  fingers,  but  the 
compensation  commission  said  that  inasmuch  as  he  was  not  receiving 
a  wage  at  the  time  of  his  accident  he  was  not  eligible  for  compensa- 
tion. He  was  in  the  capacity  of  a  student.  There  was  no  possibility 
of  paying  compensation  to  that  boy.  Now,  then,  whenever  we  put 
people  in  training  without  salary  we  make  some  provision  for  the 
wage  of  the  injured  person,  no  matter  how  small,  so  that  in  the  event 
of  a  second  injury  we  can  secure  compensation  for  the  disabled  person. 

(Here  Mr.  Riddle  exhibited  pictures  of  a  number  of  other  cases 
showing  what  has  been  done  in  Pennsylvania  for  persons  with  differ- 
ent kinds  of  disabilities.) 

Hundreds  of  just  as  energetic  and  ambitious  disabled  persons  have 
been  trained  or  are  now  being  trained  in  Pennsylvania  in  many  lines 
of  work  suitable  in  each  case  to  the  disability  of  the  injured  person. 


28  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

A  few  of  the  many  tasks  for  which  such  persons  have  been  trained 
and  are  being  trained  are  accountancy,  automobile  mechanics,  bak- 
ing, barbering,  basket  making,  bookkeeping,  card  writing  and 
engrossing,  carpet  weaving,  chair  caning,  clerking  of  various  kinds, 
drafting,  electricity,  embalming  and  funeral  directing,  insurance 
selling,  jewelry  manufacturing  and  watch  repairing,  mine  fire  bossing, 
motion-picture  operating,  piano  tuning,  selling,  shoe  repairing, 
school  teaching,  stenography,  telegraphy,  commercial  and  wireless 
telegraphy,  traffic  managing,  and  welding  and  brazing,  in  addition 
to  many  skilled  tasks  peculiar  to  the  various  industrial  works. 

We  have  had  a  variety  of  experiences.  We  have  had  all  types. 
Our  one  object  is  to  make  the  rehabilitation  facilities  available  so  as- 
to  render  to  all  the  utmost  service. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Mr.  Schneider  has  an  announcement  to  make. 

Mr.  SCHNEIDER.  Mr.  Hanger,  of  the  Artificial  Limb  Co.  here,  has 
said  through  his  representative  that  he  would  be  glad  to  have  3,  4,  5,. 
or  6  persons  here  wearing  artificial  appliances.  Mr.  Kratz  said  if  you 
desire  the  Hanger  artificial  appliances  to  be  shown  we  will  have 
several  persons  up  here  to-morrow  afternoon  and  have  both  men  and 
women. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Speaking  of  type  disabilities,  we  all  know  by 
experience  that  certain  types  are  fairly  easy  to  handle.  The  eye 
cases  and  the  arm  amputations  do  give  considerable  concern,  and  I 
was  just  wondering  whether  or  not  wre  might  bring  up  some  of  these 
types.  In  our  further  meetings  we  will  naturally  bring  up  case 
histories.  Nothing  so  stimulates  the  rehabilitation  agent's  imagina- 
tion as  a  statement  of  what  has  been  done  in  a  case.  Do  not  give  all 
the  spectaculr  cases,  give  us  some  of  the  ones  you  didn't  solve. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  I  want  to  have  the  question  about  employment 
training  with  maintenance  paid  to  the  disabled  trainee  by  the  rehabili- 
tation agency  in  lieu  of  any  salary  from  the  employer  made  clear. 
Even  though  the  rehabilitation  bureau  maintains  the  disabled  worker 
in  training  from  its  appropriation,  would  it  have  been  possible  to  have 
the  employer  pay  such  worker  $1  per  week  so  that  such  worker  may 
get  full  workmen's  compensation  if  he  be  injured  ? 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  That  procedure  would  be  of  no  great  benefit  because 
such  disabled  worker  sustaining  another  injury  in  his  employment 
would  receive  in  Pennsylvania  compensation  of  only  $1  per  week. 
The  workmen's  compensation  act  of  Pennsylvania  provides  that 
compensation  shall  not  be  more  than  $12  per  week  nor  less  than 
$6  per  week,  with  the  further  proviso  that  if  at  the  tune  of  injury 
the  employee  receives  wages  of  less  than  $6  per  week,  then  he  shall 
receive  the  full  amount  of  such  wages  per  week  as  compensation. 


VOCATIONAL,  REHABILITATION.  29 

Therefore  a  disabled  trainee  receiving  $1  per  week  as  wages  would 
receive  $1  per  week  as  compensation  in  Pennsylvania  if  sustaining 
an  injury  during  training  with  maintenance  coming  from  the  reha- 
bilitation agency  and  a  nominal  wage  of  $1  per  week  coming  from  the 
employer.  It  is  my  impression  that  such  conditions  prevail  gener- 
ally in  other  States. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  In  our  State  it  would  be  66  f  per  cent. 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  In  Pennsylvania  our  every  effort  is  to  keep  living 
maintenance  payments  from  the  rehabilitation  appropriation  to  a 
minimum  so  far  as  it  can  be  accomplished  without  working  hardship 
on  a  disabled  trainee  during  his  training  course.  On  the  bureau's 
regular  placement  training  forms  providing  for  maintenance  the 
question  is  asked,  does  the  employer  agree  to  start  trainee  on  his 
pay  roll  at  the  rate  of  $1  per  week  or  more  after  four  weeks'  proba- 
tionary period  in  training,  with  the  amount  of  pay  per  week  from  the 
employer  gradually  increasing  and,  consequently,  diminishing  in  like 
amount  per  week  the  pay  from  the  bureau  of  rehabilitation,  until  at 
the  end  of  the  20-week  period  the  registrant  is  entirely  off  the  bureau 
of  rehabilitation's  pay  roll  and  on  the  employer's  pay  roll.  The 
maximum  living  maintenance  that  in  any  case  may  be  paid  under 
the  Pennsylvania  rehabilitation  act  to  a  disabled  trainee  is  $15  per 
week.  In  all  cases  the  amount  of  payment  to  a  disabled  trainee, 
including  school  costs  or  maintenance,  is  not  necessarily  the  maximum 
but  is  in  accurate  amount  the  difference  by  which  the  trainee's 
estimated  weekly  expenses  during  training  exceeds  such  trainee's 
weekly  income  during  training.  The  Pennsylvania  bureau  has  very 
few  trainees  getting  maintenance  in  lieu  of  wages  in  employment 
training. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  You  do  not  think  it  possible  to  cover  the  amount  in 
training  completely  so  far  as  compensation  is  concerned  ? 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  I  do  not  see  legally  how  a  disabled  person  in  training 
sustaining  injury  during  such  training  could  receive  compensation 
from  a  rehabilitation  agency,  and  if  the  employer  was  paying  such 
trainee  no  wage,  it  is  very  doubtful  if  such  trainee  could  legally 
obtain  compensation  from  such  employer  and,  further,  if  the  em- 
ployer was  paying  the  trainee  in  Pennsylvania  an  amount  of  less  than 
$6  per  week,  compensation  would  merely  be  the  amount  of  wage 
that  the  employer  was  actually  paying  the  disabled  trainee.  Before 
a  disabled  trainee  is  entered  by  the  Pennsylvania  Bureau  of  Rehabili- 
tation in  an  employer's  establishment,  with  living  maintenance 
during  such  training  coming  from  the  bureau  of  rehabilitation  and  no 
wage  from  the  employer,  it  is  made  absolutely  clear  to  such  disabled 
trainee  that  it  is  the  belief  of  the  bureau  of  rehabilitation  that  such 
trainee  is  entered  in  such  employment  training  as  a  student,  and  that, 
so  long  as  he  does  not  receive  a  wage  from  the  employer,  the  relation 


30  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

of  master  and  servant  does  not  exist  and,  consequently,  he  is  not 
entitled  to  workmen's  compensation  payments  in  the  event  that  he 
should  be  injured  during  the  time  that  he  is  in  such  training  and 
receiving  no  wage  from  the  establishment.  In  fact,  in  addition  to 
the  explanation,  such  trainee  in  Pennsylvania  signs  a  definite  form 
of  the  bureau  of  rehabilitation,  acknowledging  such  condition.  That 
acknowledgment  is  based  on  the  fact  that,  as  a  general  proposition , 
workmen's  compensation  insurance  protectio'n  is  afforded  employers 
and  paid  to  injured  employees,  or  the  dependents  of  employees 
killed,  by  the  premium  paid  by  the  employer  on  his  pay  roll  amount 
classified  by  hazards  and,  consequently,  during  the  period  in  which 
the  establishment  pays  the  trainee  no  salary  it  pays  no  premium 
to  any  insurance  carrier  for  such  trainee,  and  therefore  such  trainee 
is  not,  so  far  as  compensation  payments  are  concerned,  an  employee 
of  the  establishment  in  which  such  prospective  trainee  desires  to 
receive  training. 

Mr.  LAND.  Would  there  be  any  objection  in  letting  the  employer 
pay  the  man  the  wage  and  you  reimburse  the  employer  ? 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  Yes;  because  under  the  Pennsylvania  rehabilitation 
act  the  bureau  may  provide  maintenance  costs  for  a  physically 
handicapped  person  in  training,  and  such  payments  could  not  be 
made  to  the  employer  for  maintenance  costs  if  they  were  later  to 
be  paid  by  the  employer  to  the  person.  Such  payments  should  be 
made  to  the  person. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  The  commissioner  of  Wisconsin  has  ruled  that 
every  person  is  on  the  pay  roll. 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  The  Pennsylvania  Commission  originally  made  a 
similar  ruling,  but  difficulties  later  arose  regarding  the  insurance 
premiums  and  payments. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  In  Wisconsin  we  have  the  apprenticeship  law. 

Mr.  CUMMINGS.  Inasmuch  as  we  have  a  compensation  man  here, 
Mr.  Ott,  of  West  Virginia,  I  would  like  to  suggest  that  he  give  his 
opinion  of  this  matter. 

Mr.  OTT.  I  have  nothing  particular  to  add  only  to  say  that  I 
think  as  Mr.  Riddle.  Our  situation  in  West  Virginia  is  the  same  as 
Pennsvlvania. 


GROUP  MEETING. 

MAY    16 — 9  A.    M. 


CHAIRMAN  F.  J.  HUBBARD,  Director  of  Vocational  Rehabili- 
tation, Mississippi. 

Chairman  HUBBARD.  The  first  speaker  for  our  morning's  program 
is  Mr.  Lloyd  A.  Henry,  of  Montana,  who  will  speak  on  the  topic 
"Rehabilitation  in  the  field  of  agriculture." 

REHABILITATION  IN  THE  FIELD  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

LLOYD  A.  HENRY,  Civilian  Rehabilitation  Agent,  Montana. 

I  notice  that  my  topic  for  discussion  this  morning  is  "  Rehabilita- 
tion in  the  field  of  agriculture."  I  prefer  to  choose  for  my  text  the 
possibilities  of  training  disabled  persons  in  agriculture  under  civilian 
rehabilitation.  I  wish  to  say  in  the  beginning  that  I  am  a  hard- 
headed  farmer  from  Montana,  out  in  the  wild  and  wooly  West  where 
rehabilitation  agents  are  not  supposed  to  make  speeches,  but  where 
real  men  are  cow-punchers — where,  when  they  are  not  breaking 
bucking  bronchos,  they  are  fighting  Indians  and  shooting  buffalo  for 
a  pastime. 

Whenever  I  attempt  to  give  a  talk  I  feel  like  my  friend  Bill  did 
when  he  rode  a  range  steer  across  an  irrigation  ditch.  Bill  and  I 
were  riding  across  the  range  one  Sunday  morning  and  Bill  said  to 
me:  "I  can  ride  any  range  cattle  on  the  ranch."  Bill  was  dressed 
in  his  Sunday-go-to-meeting  clothes.  When  we  came  to  a  corral 
where  there  were  some  wild  ones,  I  picked  out  one  I  thought  he 
couldn't  ride.  He  got  on — then  went  up  the  gulch,  down  the  range, 
and  toward  the  irrigating  ditch.  Bill  held  tight  until  they  reached 
the  ditch,  but  as  the  steer  leaped  into  the  ditch  Bill  fell  head  first 
into  the  water.  The  water  was  very  low  and  consisted  mostly  of 
mud.  When  poor  Bill  came  up  for  air  you  couldn't  see  him  for  mud. 
So  I  expect  that  I  will  be  thrown  several  times  before  I  am  through. 

Rehabilitation  has  come  to  mean  the  training  of  disabled  persons 
in  work  that  they  are  interested  in  and  work  that  they  can  follow 
after  their  training  is  completed.  Agricultural  rehabilitation  does 
not  differ  materially  from  any  other  kind  of  rehabilitation.  There 
are  a  few  fundamental  principles  which  I  would  like  very  much  to 

31 


32  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

give  you  at  this  time  for  your  consideration,  and  which  I  believe 
underlies  all  rehabilitation  work : 

1.  The  desire  for  training  must  come  from  the  disabled  persons. 

2.  Mental  and  physical  rehabilitation  must  precede  the  training. 
For  example  a  man  froze  his  hands  so  severely  that  he  had  to  have 
the  fingers  on  both  hands  amputated.     His  friends  paid  for  his 
maintenance  and  the  nurses  at  the  hospital  fed  and  dressed  him. 
Everybody  told  him  that  he  would  never  be  able  to  work  again. 
He  really  believed  it.    He  stayed  at  the  hospital  for  over  two  years. 
The  civilian  rehabilitation  department  surveyed  his  case  and  he  was 
taken  to  Minneapolis  to  the  Minneapolis  Artificial  Limb  Co.  where 
he  was  fitted  with  double  hooks.    The  man  who  showed  him  how  to 
use  the  appliances  was  a  man  who  has  lost  both  arms  and  both  legs. 
The  fact  that  this  man  who  went  to  the  factory  and  saw  other  men 
working  who  had  worse  disabilities  than  he  made  him  know  that  he 
could  work.    Now  our  man  can  do  any  work  that  any  of  us  with  two 
arms  can  do. 

3.  Give  the  man  or  woman  the  work  that  he  or  she  is  interested 
in  and  the  work  that  they  can  follow  after  their  training  is  completed. 
Men  are  mechanical  or  they  are  not.    They  are  agricultural,  industrial, 
commercial,  or  musical,  or  they  are  not.    If  you  try  to  make  a  farmer 
out  of  a  mechanic,  you  will  probably  waste  his  time  and  your  money. 
The  person  who  is  not  interested  in  the  work  that  he  is  doing  is  the 
man  who  is  generally  injured  while  working.     At  one  time  I  was 
working  for  the  Ford  Tractor  Factory,  at  Dearborn,  Mich.,  and  was 
going  through  the  plant.    A  worker  on  one  of  the  machines  put  his 
hand  over  to  shut  off  his  machine,  and  not  looking  put  it  in  a  gear 
and  cut  his  hand  off.    This  man  was  exceedingly  uninterested  in  his 
work  and  gave  it  little  thought.    The  only  way  to  have  a  man  inter- 
ested in  his  work  and  show  progress  is  to  give  him  work  that  he  is 
interested  in. 

When  I  speak  of  work  that  anyone  is  interested  in  I  am  reminded 
of  a  story.  Tom  and  Dick  were  college  students  and  they  were 
both  taking  a  course  in  psychology  called  "  Wisdom."  One  morning 
both  boys  were  going  up  to  take  an  examination.  Dick  said  to  Tom, 
"How  is  it  that  you  manage  to  get  by  so  easily  with  the  work?" 
Tom  said,  "  You  listen  to  what  I  tell  the  professor  when  I  go  in  and 
you  tell  him  the  same  thing  and  you  will  get  by  all  right."  Tom 
went  in  and  said,  "Say,  Prof.,  there  is  a  lot  about  this  work  that 
I  don't  understand."  "You  needn't  worry,  Tom,  about  that,  you 
know  all  there  is  to  be  known  about  this  work."  uOh,  not  yet, 
Professor,  but  I  expect  to  when  I  finish  your  course."  Dick  went  in 
and  said:  "Good  morning,  Professor.  There  is  a  lot  I  don't  knoi 
about  psychology."  "I  know  it,"  said  the  professor,  "and  what  is 
more,  you  will  never  learn  it.  I  shouldn't  have  let  you  stay  in  the 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  33 

course.  You  are  a  fool."  "Oh,  not  yet,  Professor,  but  I  expect  to 
be  one  before  I  finish  your  course."  Tom  was  interested  in  psychol- 
ogy, Dick  was  not. 

4.  When  a  trainee  enters  institutional,  placement,  or  combined 
training,  if  he  does'  not  hit  the  ball,  drop  him.  Make  it  a  business 
proposition. 

I  want  to  cite  to  you  a  few  cases  that  are  in  agricultural  training 
in  Montana. 

1 .  A  Montana  rancher,  who  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  sight  as 
the  result  of  an  accidental  dynamite-cap  explosion  several  years  ago, 
had  his  case  surveyed,  and  he  was  placed  in  our  special  adult  School 
for  the  Blind  at  Boulder,  Mont.     He  is  being  taught  academic  sub- 
jects, reading  of  the  Braille.    In  two  months'  time  he  had  done  more 
work  than  the  average  blind  student  does  in  two  years.    He  is  also 
given  commercial  work  and  is  now  able  to  write  his  own  letters  on  a 
typewriter.     He  will  finish  in  June  and  will  start  a  workshop  in  his 
home,  where  he  will  be  self-supporting. 

2.  Another  rancher,  whose  right  side  became  paralyzed  and  who 
was  not  able -to  work  on  his  ranch,  is  taking  work  in  a  commercial 
college  in  left-hand  penmanship,  bookkeeping,  English,  and  arithme- 
tic.    He  expects  to  start  a  business  of  his  own  when  he  finishes. 
But  you  say  that  this  is  not  agricultural  rehabilitation.     You  are 
training  men  away  from  the  farm.     Let  me  give  you  a  few  cases  that 
are  being  trained  on  the  farm : 

3.  An  ex-service  man  lost  his  hand  in  the  A.  C.  M.  Smelter  working 
on  a  sampling  mill.     He  is  receiving  placement  training  on  a  poultry 
farm.     He  is  now  receiving  wages  and  his  board  and  room  at  the 
place,  and  will  be  given  charge  of  the  poultry  farm  in  the  fall. 

4.  Another  ex-service  man  lost   his   hand  in    a  sawmill.     He  is 
now  getting  combined  training  at  the  horticultural  department  at 
the  Montana  Agricultural  College.     Another  year  it  is  expected  that 
he  will  be  made  foreman  of  all  the  workmen  in  the  department  and 
receive  $100  per  month.     He  is  now  getting  $70  per  month  for  his 
services. 

5.  Another  case  is  that  of  a  man  who  lost  both  arms  below  the 
elbow  in  a  railroad  accident.     He  was  on  the  county  poor  farm  for 
seven  years.     He  was  placed  on  a  poultry  farm  and  has  been  there 
for  about  nine  months.     The  foreman  says  that  he  is  the  best  man 
that  he  ever  had  to  work  for  him.     Some  time  ago  this  foreman 
went  to  Helena  to  the  State  poultry  show  and  left  the  armless  man  in 
charge  of  the  flock  of  1,500  pure-bred  white  leghorns.     He  fed  the 
birds,  trap  nested,  gathered  the  eggs,  and  kept  the  fires  going  in  the 
feed  houses  where  the  feed  was  cooked  for  the  poultry.     When  the 

1476T»— 22 :-{ 


34  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

foreman  returned  he  said  that  everything  was  in  very  good  condition. 
These  are  only  a  few  cases  of  those  training  in  agriculture. 

The  State  Sanitarium  for  Tuberculosis  has  many  arrested  cases 
that  will  be  trained  in  poultry  work,  beekeeping,  orcharding,  truck 
gardening,  and  horticulture.  This  will  prevent  them  from  going  back 
to  the  hospital  for  further  treatment.  We  are  also  training  the 
adult  cases  who  are  being  discharged  from  the  State  Orthopedic 
Hospital,  State  School  for  the  Blind,  and  Industrial  School  for  Boys. 
Placement  training  will  be  given  our  trainees  at  the  State  college  and 
their  substations  throughout  the  State.  Let  me  call  to  your  atten- 
tion another  phase  of  rehabilitation  that  is  under  way  in  the  State 
of  Montana.  The  A.  C.  M.  Co.  has  several  hundred  men  on  its 
pension  list,  and  these  are  men  who  have  been  disabled  in  the  mines 
and  smelters.  Some  of  the  pensioners  are  past  the  age  of  rehabilita- 
tion. These  men  are  drawing  from  the  treasury  of  the  company 
thousands  and  thousands  of  dollars  annually  for  their  pensions  and 
disabilities.  They  receive  from  $20  per  month  up  to  as  high  as  $100 
per  month  compensation  from  the  company.  We  are  proposing  to 
start  a  poultry  colony  to  take  care  of  the  men  who  have  been  diasbled 
in  the  mines  and  smelters.  The  company  is  to  establish  a  central 
plant  to  train  these  men,  and  as  they  become  competent  in  poultry 
work  to  build  them  a  home  and  provide  them  with  a  unit  of  poultry 
of  one  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  bird  capacity.  These  men  will 
be  given  an  opportunity  to  buy  these  units  at  cost  on  a  long-term 
payment  basis,  or  they  can  rent  them  from  the  company.  The 
rehabilitation  part  of  the  program  is  to  provide  the  working  plan, 
and  the  A.  C.  M.  Co.  will  furnish  the  money. 

We  have  another  agricultural  rehabilitation  scheme  which  is  being 
worked  out  in  Montana.  It  is  a  plan  I  believe  should  be  put  in 
operation  in  every  other  State — that  is,  the  rehabilitation  of  the 
county  farms.  But  you  say  that  the  majority  of  these  people  are 
too  old  for  training  and  that  they  do  not  have  a  vocational  handicap. 
If  they  did  not  have  a  vocational  handicap  they  would  not  be  in  the 
county  farm.  When  we  were  surveying  the  case  of  one  of  our  arm- 
less men  we  found  that  the  county  had  expended  $3,500  for  his  main- 
tenance and  that  he  had  spent  seven  years  in  idleness  on  the  county 
poor  farm.  If  he  had  stayed  there  and  lived  to  the  age  of  60,  the 
county  would  have  been  obliged  to  spend  some  $15,000  more  for  his 
keep.  We  placed  this  young  man  on  a  poultry  farm  and  to-day  he 
is  making  steady  progress  along  this  line.  While  w^e  were  surveying 
his  case  we  were  surprised  to  find  that  there  were  many  things  that 
these  men  at  the  Missoula  County  farm  could  do  to  make  themselves 
happier  people  and  derive  benefits  for  the  county  by  making  its  farm 
more  nearly  self -supporting.  We  found  one  man  who  had  consid- 
erable experience  in  poultry  husbandry.  He  was  given  charge  of 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  35 

the  poultry  flock.  He  sold  off  the  old  flock  of  Rhode  Island  Reds 
and  with  the  money  bought  back  pure-bred  White  Leghorns.  He 
remodeled,  painted,  and  put  new  ventilators  in  the  old  poultry  plant. 
Heretofore  they  received  very  few  eggs  from  the  poultry  of  the  farm. 
They  have  gotten  eggs  the  past  winter.  In  February  they  got  31 
dozen,  March  81  dozen,  and  in  April  over  200  dozen  from  a  100-bird 
plant.  This  man  is  training  another  one  of  the  men  on  the  farm  to 
take  care  of  the  birds,  and  when  he  has  become  sufficiently  well 
acquainted  with  the  work  of  poultry  raising  the  present  foreman 
will  be  placed  on  a  commercial  egg  farm  where  he  will  be  self- 
supporting. 

Another  'man  was  found  to  have  had  a  great  deal  of  experience  in 
shoe  repairing.  He  was  furnished  a  shoe-repairing  outfit  and  is  now 
doing  all  the  shoe  and  harness  repairing  for  the  farm.  He  is  also 
repairing  the  shoes  that  the  county  auditor  receives  for  distribution 
for  the  poor  of  the  county.  He  receives  half  of  what  the  county 
formerly  paid  the  commercial  shoe  repair  man  for  his  work.  He, 
too,  is  training  a  man  to  do  the  work  and  will  be  placed  in  a  shoe  shop 
where  he  will  be  self-supporting.  Another  man  was  found  employ- 
ment in  a  mission  in  western  Montana  where  he  received  his  board 
and  room  and  $15  OP  $20  per  month  for  his  work.  Another  man  is 
raising  bulbs  and  flowers.  An  old  cabinet  maker  is  teaching  the 
men  who  are  unable  to  leave  the  ward  how  to  make  toys  which  are 
turned  into  profit  for  the  men.  Knitting  machines  and  carpet  looms 
will  be  added  to  the  shop  to  give  employment  to  the  men  and  women 
of  the  farms  to  keep  them  busy  and  enable  them  to  earn  some  money 
to  help  make  them  self-supporting.  The  plan  is  to  give  these  people 
something  to  do  and  help  make  the  county  farm  more  nearly  self- 
supporting.  This  rehabilitation  work  on  the  farm  has  awakened  the 
community  and  they  are  providing  the  people  with  entertainments 
and  motion  pictures  and  are  planning  several  band  concerts  at  the 
farm  for  these  people.  When  you  stop  to  consider  the  enormous 
expense  of  the  upkeep  of  the  county  farms  of  just  one  State  and  the 
number  of  unhappy  people  that  live  on  these  farms,  I  think  that  you 
will  agree  with  me  that  this  rehabilitation  of  county  farms  is  one 
big  problem  of  the  State  that  can  be  solved  through  agricultural 
rehabilitation. 

Chairman  HUBBARD.  We  have  a  second  speaker  who  will  continue 
the  discussion. 

WILLIS  \V.  GRANT,  Supervisor,  Industrial  Rehabilitation, 
Iowa. 

I  wish  I  might  boast  to  you  of  the  wonderful  things  we  have  done 
in  agriculture,  and  pour  into  your  eager  ears  the  magic  formula  of 
how  it  was  done.  Surely  a  State  with  a  billion  dollar  annual  agricul- 


X 

36  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

tural  product,  with  the  lowest  percentage  of  illiteracy,  and  with  one 
out  of  every  four,  of  the  total  population  last  year  attending  some 
kind  of  school  will  have  something  of  interest  to  report  about  rehabili- 
tation in  agriculture.  But  we  have  been  able  to  do  very  little  along 
the  line  of  agricultural  projects  since  this  program  started.  I  am 
glad  to  discuss  the  situation  frankly. 

Lest  you  mistake  this  for  a  sorrowful  admission  of  guilt  and  ineffi- 
ciency, I  want  to  quote  a  statement  which  I  consider  rather  remark- 
able. A  man  was  in  my  office  recently  who  is  an  employee  of  the 
War  Veterans'  Bureau  and  in  charge  of  farm  rehabilitation  projects 
in  12  Iowa  counties.  He  stated  to  me  .that  while  about  50  per  cent 
of  the  enlistments  in  this  section  were  from  farm  occupations,  less 
than  20  per  cent  of  the  disabled  veterans  were  taking  vocational 
training  in  agricultural  lines,  and  even  after  three  and  one-half  years 
since  the  armistice  he  had  only  8  men  in  the  12  counties  actually 
placed  on  farm  projects.  When  you  consider  the  wonderful  training 
facilities  in  agriculture  offered  in  soldier  rehabilitation,  together  with 
subsistence  money  available  for  six  months  after  the  project  begins, 
we  surely  shall  have  to  look  elsewhere  than  to  the  rehabilitation 
agency  for  the  cause  of  this  situation. 

I  searched  for  statistics  concerning  free  employment  service  to 
find  the  trend  of  employment  passing  through  the  Iowa  State-Federal 
Employment  Bureau.  Here  are  some  figures  compiled  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1920.  Offices  were  maintained  by  that  bureau  for 
only  part  of  that  year  in  15  cities,  so  that  the  total  numbers  are  not 
significant.  Out  of  a  total  of  26,850  men  placed  during  the  year 
there  were  only  7,483  placed  in  occupations  even  suggesting  agricul- 
ture and  but  6,709  as  farm  hands,  gardeners,  and  in  dairying.  Of 
the  8,711  women  placed  but  156  were  located  on  farms.  The  employ- 
ment service  in  such  an  agricultural  State  as  Iowa  at  a  time  when 
farm  labor  was  in  demand  and  well  paid  placed  about  one-fifth  of  its 
people  in  agricultural  occupations. 

Rather  early  in  the  history  of  our  service  we  prepared  a  circular 
letter  and  addressed  it  to  every  farm  bureau  county  agent  in  the 
State.  It  was  an  appeal  to  them  to  supply  us  with  the  names  of 
prospective  cases.  I  understand  the  Federal  Board  has  circulated 
copies  of  Bulletin  No.  72  in  this  State.  Syndicated  news  material 
\vas  sent  out  at  the  time  the  work  started.  One  case  only  was  reported 
by  a  county  agent,  and  lie  had  made  a  previous  personal  application. 
We  have  the  names  of  some  agricultural  prospects,  but  they  did  not 
come  through  any  agency  interested  in  farm  welfare.  I  visited  a 
county  poor  farm  after  reading  the  experience  of  one  of  our  neighbor 
States,  but  did  not  find  any  prospective  cases.  Of  course,  we  have 
not  combed  the  State,  but  the  fact  remains  that  we  have  about  210 
listed  cases  and  not  over  half  a  dozen  directly  concerned  in  agriculture. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  37 

Let  us  analyze  this  situation  and  search  for  the  cause  of  so  few 
agricultural  cases. 

1.  In  spite  of  the  general  outcry,  the  Iowa  farmer  is  fundamentally 
prosperous.     A  school  inspector  told  me  of  his  experience  in  talking 
with  a  one-armed  farmer  boy  who  was  about  to  graduate  from  high 
school.     He  explained  the  rehabilitation  service  and  urged  the  boy 
to  get  in  touch  with  us.     "Oh,  no,"  he  said;  ''father  owns  a  large 
farm  and  I  expect  to  inherit  another  from  my  uncle,  so  I  think  I  will 
be  able  to  get  along." 

Generally,  if  there  is  a  cripple  in  a  farmer's  family,  he  or  she  can 
live  and  live  comfortably.  I  have  in  mind  one  pitiable  case  of  a 
renter  who  became  paralyzed  below  the  hips  because  a  hay  stacker 
fell  on  him.  He  lost  all  he  had  and  was  sold  off  the  farm.  We 
enlisted  the  sympathy  of  the  community.  The  last  I  knew  he  was 
living  in  a  comfortable  house  in  town  supplied  by  a  relative  and 
never  suffered  for  lack  of  food.  So  far  as  I  can  find  out  his  is  the 
only  such  case  in  the  county,  which  has  raised  thousands  of  dollars 
for  Red  Cross  funds.  We  shall  gladly  help  him  to  some  home  em- 
ployment, if  he  is  still  with  us  when  the  chiropractor  is  through 
with  him.  But  that  case  would  never  have  been  reported  to  us 
from  that  community  because  they  are  so  able  and  willing  to  take 
care  of  their  own.  It  came  through  State  hospital  service. 

2.  There  is  a  growing  exodus  from  the  farm.     Only  last  week  a 
member  of  the  faculty  of  the  college  of  agriculture  in  an  address 
before  the  county  school  superintendents  quoted  some  figures  in 
support  of  this  statement  that  there  was  an  alarming  exodus  of 
young  people  from  rural  occupations.     A  questionnaire  was  sent  to 
the  graduating  pupils  of  the  outstanding  consolidated  schools  asking 
them  what  they  had  chosen  for  their  life  work.     The  replies  indicated 
that  80  per  cent  of  these  have  chosen  vocations  that  are  distinctly 
urban.     A  survey  of  the  graduates  of  the  consolidated  schools  shows 
that  within  18  months  after  graduation  30  per  cent  have  not  returned 
to  their  farm  homes.     He  further  states  that  while  there  is  now  only 
an  exodus  from  the  farms  to  the  town,  in  former  years  there  was  a 
countercurrent  of  people  drifting  from   town  to   agriculture.     This 
countercurrent  has  practically  ceased. 

You  will  be  interested  to  note  his  reasons  for  this  condition.  He 
gave  four. 

1.  Misdirected  education. 

2.  Social  disadvantages. 

3.  The  apparent  difference  in  conditions  of  labor. 

4.  Difficulty  of  starting  on  a  farm. 

There  is  a  growing  tendency  in  this  State  for  the  present  land- 
owners to  enlarge  their  holdings.  These  people  are  looking  forward 
to  the  time  when  they  can  move  to  town  and  live  in  comfort,  making 


38  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

little  effort  to  enjoy  life  as  they  go.  Their  children  are  growing  up 
under  conditions  of  hardship  not  at  all  in  keeping  with  the  family 
fortunes.  A  county  superintendent  told  me  of  a  recent  health  survey 
of  his  children  where  they  found  50  per  cent  of  the  first  thousand 
under  weight.  They  sell  the  cream  and  butter  and  feed  the  skim 
milk  to  the  children  and  hogs.  In  this  State  of  butter  and  eggs, 
33  per  cent  of  the  children  are  underweight. 

Now  I  am  not  an  alarmist.  Neither  am  I  ashamed  of  the  great 
and  glorious  State  in  which  I  was  born,  with  her  wonderful  resources 
and  intelligent  citizens.  Many  minds  are  focused  on  this  problem. 
Many  efforts  are  being  made  to  better  the  conditions  of  rural  life 
and  happy  indeed  is  the  lot  of  the  prosperous  owner  of  Iowa  land. 
But  the  conditions  I  have  noted  have  their  influence  on  the  natural 
choice  of  disabled  persons  who  are  facing  the  problem  of  their  future 
vocation. 

The  farmer  is  an  individualist  and  not  easily  interested  in  social 
welfare  work.  We  have  seen  the  rise  and  fall  of  cooperative  enter- 
prises. Even  when  these  enterprises  have  given  promise  of  financial 
reward  they  have  been  hard  to  promote  and  still  harder  to  keep 
together.  Much  more  difficult  then  is  the  problem  of  getting  a 
general  sentiment  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  community  or  of 
that  part  of  the  community  which  we  hope  to  serve. 

3.  Farm  occupations  are  not  generally  suited  to  disabled  persons. 
Now,  this  is  a  mere  generality.  I  know  a  man  who  is  suffering  from  a 
tubercular  back,  with  complete  paralysis  of  the  legs.  He  told  me  he 
plowed  corn  most  of  the  season  for  his  brother-in-law.  I  also  know 
a  blind  man,  who  is  not  able  to  count  fingers  2  feet  from  his  face, 
who  makes  his  living  as  a  woodsman.  He  claims  he  can  fell  a  tree 
within  4  inches  of  the  spot  he  selects,  although  he  can  not  see  the 
lowest  branches.  The  determination  that  stops  at  nothing  if  applied 
to  farm  projects  will  make  a  hopeless  cripple  a  successful  farmer. 
But  it  is  rare,  indeed,  to  find  a  person  so  determined  to  be  a  farmer 
these  days. 

I  know  this  paper  is  going  to  provoke  discussion.  At  least,  I  hope 
it  will,  for  otherwise  I  should  never  have  consented  to  stand  before 
you  to  discuss  this  phase  of  rehabilitation.  I  am  now  going  to  add 
fuel  to  the  fires  of  your  indignation  by  saying  that  I  do  not  believe 
there  will  ever  be  very  many  cases  of  bona  fide  rehabilitation  in 
agriculture. 

When  I  was  doing  vocational  advisement  for  the  Federal  Board 
at  the  Norfolk  Naval  Hospital,  a  large  number  of  disabled  marines 
and  sailors  passed  through  my  hands.  We  were  under  orders  at  the 
time  to  influence  as  many  toward  farm  occupations  as  possible. 
These  men  were  mostly  recruited  in  the  Middle  West,  and  the  answers 
to  my  suggestions  along  farm  lines  will  not  be  reproduced  here.  They 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  39 

simply  would  not  consider  it.  I  know  I  am  seriously  in  need  of 
more  light  on  this  subject,  and  I  would  like  to  ask  "  Just  how  much  of 
a  field  is  there  for  a  disabled  man  in  agriculture  ?" 

Right  away  some  one  cries  out,  "  Poultry  is  a  good  field."  I  accept 
that  as  a  good  thing  in  some  cases.  In  order  to  see  a  man  actually 
starting  in  this  line,  I  went  with  my  Veterans'  Bureau  friend  to  visit 
one  of  his  " projects."  He  was  getting  nicely  started  and  had  600 
baby  chicks,  2  brooder  houses,  and  1  henhouse,  in  which  he  was  living. 
He  was  about  to  erect  his  house  to  live  in.  He  had  no  money,  but 
had  gone  in  debt  to  get  started.  As  the  proposition  stood  he  was 
$2,000  in  debt.  But  remember  he  is  drawing  $115  per  month  sub- 
sistence money,  and  if  he  and  his  wife  pull  through  a  couple  of  years 
without  serious  illness,  he  will  probably  pay  out.  But  here  is  the 
point  I  want  to  make.  His  present  disability  is  a  technicality,  a 
mere  matter  of  record.  And,  besides  that,  he  was  a  good  carpenter 
to  begin  with,  and  the  type  of  man  it  takes  to  make  a  good  carpenter. 
I  doubt  if  most  of  you  would  have  accepted  him  as  a  civilian  rehabili- 
tation case  having  a  " physical  defect  or  infirmity."  Occasionally  a 
well-trained  man  can  start  in  the  chicken  business  on  credit  and  win 
out,  but  it  is  more  likely  to  be  an  ex-carpenter  than  a  disabled  farm 
hand  who  does  this. 

In  looking  over  the  various  monographs  and  leaflets  which  have 
come  to  my  desk  I  have  not  discovered  a  great  number  of  suggested 
occupations  within  the  field  of  agriculture  that  would  be  adapted  to 
the  disabled  farm  laborer. 

We  must  carefully  distinguish  between  the  problem  of  finding  the 
proper  opportunities  for  the  son  of  a  moderately  well-to-do  farmer 
who  has  some  of  the  family  resources  to  help  him  and  the  farm 
laborer  who  has  earned  his  living  by  hard  labor  and  now  finds  him- 
self unable  to  make  a  living  that  way.  The  young  farmer's  son  has 
a  world  of  possibilities  before  him.  The  other  man,  generally  handi- 
capped by  family  cares,  faces  a  limited  field.  We  have  several  of  the 
first  group  in  training  and  not  one  of  these  expecting  to  return  to 
farming.  The  second  group  constitutes  the  problem  of  rehabilita- 
tion in  agriculture. 

One  solution  of  this  difficulty  which  is  in  keeping  with  the  general 
principle  to  build  on  former  experiences  will  be  to  find  the  oppor- 
tunities in  the  small  towns  and  villages.  A  great  deal  of  the  industry 
in  these  towns  is  in  catering  to  the  needs  of  the  farmers.  Their 
familiarity  with  these  needs  and  their  acquaintances  among  the 
farmers  become  an  asset  which  the  towns  people  readily  recognize. 
Organized  cooperation  will  generally  be  lacking,  and  the  rehabilita- 
tion agent  will  find  this  disappointing  and  time  consuming.  Our 
experience  indicates  that  each  town  has  an  individuality.  In  one 
place  the  county  superintendent  of  schools  has  given  most  effective 


40  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

assistance.  In  other  places  this  official  can  not  be  interested,  but 
some  Red  Cross  worker  lends  a  hand.  After  all,  the  rural  as  well  as 
the  urban  problem  seems  to  be  to  get  the  interest  and  confidence  of 
as  many  persons  as  possible.  Patience  and  persistence  will  bring 
results. 

Here  especially  we  find  local  cooperation  essential.  If  places  are 
to  be  found  for  these  unfortunates  it  will  only  be  with  the  aid  of  local 
sympathy.  The  suggestion  that  unless  the  man  is  able  to  get  to 
work  he  will  become  a  county  charge  meets  with  little  or  no  response. 
It  is  a  discouraging  process  without  much  prospect  that  this  social 
effort  will  bring  any  general  results. 

We  have  a  disabled  man  taking  the  animal  husbandry  course  at 
the  State  Agricultural  College  at  Ames.  But  listen  to  the  job 
objective.  He  is  a  farmer  boy  and  a  bright  one,  but  he  is  taking  this 
course  preliminary  to  taking  up  the  work  of  a  farm  bureau  county 
agent.  I  think  he  will  make  a  good  one. 

A  real  dirt  farmer  is  one  of  our  star  cases.  He  lost  his  left  hand 
in  a  corn  shredder  and  was  living  on  a  small  farm.  The  products  of 
his  farm,  with  a  few  cows,  bees,  and  fruit,  are  not  sufficient  to  make 
him  a  living  now  that  he  can  not  hire  out  to  his  neighbors.  He  is  a 
superior  type  of  man  and  took  several  months  to  make  his  decision. 
Jlemember,  he  was  all  located  to  work  out  the  bee,  fruit,  and  poultn^ 
combination.  He  has  been  active  in  cooperative  work  in  his  county, 
and  was  frequently  delegate  to  State  conventions.  After  careful 
consideration  he  asked  for  a  business  college  course,  including  short- 
hand, in  order  that  he  might  qualify  as  a  paid  secretary  or  agent  in 
some  of  the  farmers'  cooperative  business  organizations  now  being 
projected. 

4.  The  financial  depression  has  made  it  necessary  for  many  owners 
who  have  been  living  in  town  on  the  rental  from  their  farms  to 
return  to  their  farms.  The  crippled  owner  of  an  Iowa  farm  is  not  a 
subject  for  rehabilitation  and  the  child  of  such  a  family  will  be  diffi- 
cult to  locate  anywhere  but  with  the  parents.  The  financial  situa- 
tion, which  as  you  know  has  delayed  many  of  our  rehabilitation 
cases,  has  had  especial  influence  in  making  it  difficult  for  a  person  to 
start  in  agriculture.  In  one  of  our  cases  mentioned  elsewhere  we 
made  a  determined  effort  to  keep  the  man  on  his  rented  farm.  In 
normal  times  we  should  have  succeeded,  but  along  Vith  his  neigh- 
bors the  man  did  not  make  enough  to  see  him  through  the  year. 
The  landlord  himself,  facing  a  curtailed  income,  was  forced  to  move 
back  to  his  homestead  and  farm  his  own  land,  and  the  disabled  man 
was  dispossessed.  You  all  know  the  condition  of  farm  credits  and 
the  hopelessness  of  trying  to  obtain  a  loan  to  help  start  a  disabled 
man  as  a  renter.  In  this  case  the  question  of  training  him  did  not 
enter,  for  the  man  was  formerly  a  skillful  and  successful  farmer. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  41 

Now  this  condition  is  temporary  and  is  already  passing,  but  it 
will  be  many  years  before  the  lure  of  the  cities  will  attract  so  many 
substantial  farmers.  I  look  for  the  movement  for  better  homes 
and  schools,  for  labor-saving  devices  in  the  home,  and  better  rural 
social  life  to  result  in  permanent  establishment  of  many  of  them. 
But  I  can  not  see  in  that  movement  much  prospect  of  the  easy 
access  to  independent  farming  for  the  man  without  means,  even  if 
he  is  not  suffering  from  physical  disability. 

Our  experience  may  be  unique,  but  my  observation  leads  me  to  the 
conclusion  that  rehabilitation  in  the  midwestern  agricultural  States 
will  not  differ  materially  from  that  in  the  rest  of  the  country.  The 
majority  of  the  prospective  cases  will  not  come  from  the  farms  and 
will  not  find  their  greatest  opportunities  for  reemployment  there. 
The  last  report  of  the  industrial  commissioner  gives  a  total  number 
of  accidents  reported  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1920,  as  14,437, 
from  which  is  excluded  not  only  farmers  but  "all  workmen  and  em- 
ployers engaged  in  threshing,  corn  shredding,  corn  selling,  and  other 
employments  intimately  related  to  agricultural  pursuits."  A  settled 
agricultural  State  has  many  trades  and  industries  and  other  fields 
for  employment  outside  of  agriculture.  Our  cities  look  small  com- 
pared with  St.  Louis,  our  factories  appear  insignificant  compared 
with  those  of  the  great  industrial  centers,  but  did  you  ever  stop  to 
think  how  many  of  these  smaller  cities  with  their  smaller  industries 
there  are  ?  Only  44  per  cent  of  our  population  live  on  farms,  and 
many  of  these  are  supported  by  labor  in  town.  I  quote  Wallaces' 
Farmer:  "It  is  exceedingly  doubtful  if  more  than  one-third  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  and  40  per  cent  of  the  people  of  Iowa  can 
be  called  genuine  farmers."  There  are  60  per  cent  then  who  are  not 
concerned  in  agriculture. 

I  present  this  rather  negative  paper  without  apology.  You  must 
not  infer  that  we  are  ultraconservative  or  inactive.  It  is  not  in- 
tended as  a  report  of  the  various  types  of  rehabilitation  service  which 
we  have  rendered.  Many  States  here  represented  have  had  experi- 
ences in  this  field,  and  I  wish  to  present  the  situation  as  I  see  it  for 
their  discussion.  There  is  nothing  final  in  such  a  new  movement  as 
we  represent,  and  this  is  surely  not  the  last  word  on  this  subject.  I 
hope  you  will  discuss  it  and  criticize  every  statement  here.  We  all 
need  the  very  widest  viewpoint  on  every  phase  of  this  difficult  but 
fascinating  service  which  we  are  attempting  to  render  to  mankind. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

Mr.  MARTIN.  Are  you  undertaking  the  rehabilitation  of  people  who 
happen  to  be  in  agriculture  ? 

Mr.  GRANT.  I  think  we  are.  It  consists  largely  of  overcoming 
physical  handicaps.  Physical  handicaps  in  my  experience  are  not 


42  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

minor  handicaps.  One  of  the  greatest  handicaps  is  that  of  the  man 
who  has  been  in  the  wrong  vocation  from  the  beginning.  Men  who 
are  natural-born  agriculturists,  mechanics,  bookkeepers,  etc.,  who 
become  handicapped  will  not  in  a  large  number  of  cases  listen  to  you. 
They  are  able,  having  been  naturally  adapted  to  these  vocations,  to 
see  their  own  possibilities.  The  question  we  ask  is,  What  was  the 
man's  original  vocation  ?  There  are  a  great  many  boys  born  on  the 
farm,  who  have  always  lived  on  a  farm,  and  received  their  injury  on  a 
farm.  They  have  come  to  the  city.  In  all  our  work  we  try  not  to 
put  a  man  back,  but  to  find  where  he  should  have  been  in  the  first 
place.  Looking  into  our  cities,  we  find  that  a  great  many  handi- 
capped men  in  the  city  were  born  on  a  farm.  A  man  who  has  lost 
his  sight  in  a  shop  should  be  rehabilitated  for  mechanical  work,  if 
mechanically  inclined. 

Mr.  HENRY.  A  man  is  mechanical  or  not,  industrial  or  not,  or 
musical  or  not.  If  you  are  going  to  try  to  train  a  man  for  mechanical 
work  who  is  interested  in  music,  you  are  going  to  fail.  So  many  of 
us  here  are  misfits,  not  in  our  right  line.  If  a  man  is  interested  in 
farming,  give  him  farming;  if  interested  in  mechanical  work,  give  him 
mechanical  work,  if  his  disability  will  allow.  Another  point  is  that  we 
have  put  as  many  men  on  the  farm  as  we  have  in  the  city.  I  think  I 
understand  the  agricultural  situation  pretty  well.  I  still  maintain 
that  there  are  many  disabled  men  on  the  farm  who  should  be  on  the 
farm,  and  there  are  a  lot  disabled  in  the  cities  who  should  be  on 
the  farm. 

Mr.  SNORTUM.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  something  to  be  said 
in  the  matter  of  background.  I  have  met  a  number  of  people  in 
need  of  rehabilitation  who  have  been  interesting  to  me  because  of  an 
agricultural  background.  These  people  have  been  engaged  in 
various  pursuits  or  trades,  perhaps  in  a  commercial  firm,  or  in  some 
other  field  of  work,  and  I  found  that  they  are  or  have  been  engaged 
some  time  or  other,  especially  in  youth,  in  farming,  and  I  have  seen 
how  valuable  this  background  is  in  perhaps  bringing  them  back  to 
the  farm.  I  do  not  mean  that  in  the  sense  of  exploitation,  but, 
perhaps,  to  reawaken  something  they  might  have  cherished  when 
young.  Here  is  an  opportunity.  Perhaps  that  background  is 
only  a  very  general  one,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  it  should  be  capital- 
ized. That  is  the  kind  of  thing  I  am  interested  in,  the  cases  we  meet 
in  our  city  who  have  gone  into  other  phases  than  agriculture  and  who 
might  be  brought  back  to  agriculture. 

Mr.  GUILD.  I  want  to  ask  Mr.  Henry  a  question.  Have  you  used 
the  women  in  the  county  farms  ? 

Mr.  HENRY.  We  have  the  women  knitting  stockings,  we  are  intro- 
ducing a  knitting  machine,  which  they  can  use. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  43 

Mr.  GUILD.  Because  they  are  in  the  county  farm,  do  you  feel  you 
are  able  to  use  the  money  provided  for  this  work  in  rehabilitating 
them;  that  is,  do  you  take  it  for  granted  because  they  are  there  that 
they  are  handicapped  ? 

Mr.  HENRY.  I  maintain  that  if  they  did  not  have  a  vocational  handi- 
cap they  would  not  be  on  the  county  farm.  I  ask  the  county  com- 
missioners to  provide  all  this  equipment;  all  we  provide  is  just  the 
scheme.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Anaconda  Iron  Works. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  We  have  to  contend  with  the  agricultural  situation. 
Wisconsin  is  a  dairying  State.  They  are  doing  what  is  called  regis- 
tering work;  that  is,  cow  testing.  We  have  tried  out  two  cases; 
one  case  is  a  fellow  who  had  10  years'  experience  on  the  farm,  and 
because  he  had  only  one  arm  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  get  a  position 
on  the  farm  because  he  was  a  laborer.  We  tried  him  out  as  one 
of  these  fellows  who  go  around  testing.  This  fellow  is  on  his  sixth 
job  and  we  have  testimonials,  and  they  say  he- is  good  as  or  better 
than  some  fellows  who  have  two  hands.  That  is  what  we  are  doing 
in  Wisconsin.  They  are  earning  from  $90  to  $140  a  month.  On 
poultry  raising — I  agree  a  good  deal  with  Mr.  Henry  with  regard 
to  poultry  raising  in  agriculture.  We  like  to  take  a  man  who  has 
had  some  agricultural  background.  He  has  to  know  something  about 
the  farm  end  of  the  work,  I  think.  We  have  two  fellows  who  are  very 
successful,  who  are  making  their  living  now  on  poultry.  We  have 
an  instructor  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin  giving  them  some  fine 
points  of  the  work.  I  believe  that  there  is  a  big  opportunity  for,  the 
use  of  handicapped  persons  who  are  willing  to  make  a  return.  One 
of  these  men  has  sixth  or  seventh  grade  education.  We  trained  him 
in  five  weeks  and  he  is  making  good.  He  is  employed  by  the  county 
cow-testing  association,  under  the  agricultural  association  of  the 
State. 

Mr.  WHITE.  I  want  to  ask  the  gentleman  from  Montana  about 
knitting  machines.  The  reason  I  am  asking  that  question  is  that  there 
is  a  woman  down  in  Tennessee  born  without  any  limbs.  I  have  been 
thinking  of  getting  her  into  training,  operating  one  of  these  machines. 
I  have  written  to  the  Gayheart  Knitting  Machine  Co.,  of  Clarefield, 
Pa.,  and  the  Auto  Knitting  Machine  Co.,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  In  reply- 
ing they  sent  a  lot  of  literature  and  the  usual  flock  of  letters  and  a 
guaranty  to  buy  all  products.  When  I  tried  to  enter  into  a  formal 
agreement  they  did  not  reply  to  my  letters. 

Mr.  GRANT.  I  had  the  same  experience. 

Mr.  WHITE.  I  had  my  wife  write  to  them  and  they  sent  her  a  lot 
of  literature,  also.  What  I  want  to  get  is  their  agreement  to  buy  the 
products  of  this  woman.  She  lives  up  in  the  mountains  of  Tennessee 
and  has  positively  no  way  of  marketing  her  goods. 


44  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

Mr.  FULMER.  I  have  a  sister  out  in  our  State  who  has  a  little 
leisure  time.  She  bought  a  knitting  machine  and  she  has  had  no 
difficulty  in  selling  her  wares.  We  have  a  young  man  using  the  Auto 
Knitter  and  we  have  had  correspondence  with  the  Gayheart  Co.,  and 
they  offered  to  send  the  machine  to  us.  This  discussion  is  interesting 
to  me. 

Mr.  LAND.  Have  they  purchased  her  wares  ? 

Mr.  FULMER.  It  is  not  difficult  to  get  them  to  sell  the  machine. 
She  can  knit  enough  hosiery,  she  can  not  get  out  and  market  her 
products.  When  I  tried  to  pin  them  to  buy  them,  no  reply. 

Mr.  SPITZ.  I  might  add  something  to  the  discussion  regarding  the 
Auto  knitting  machine.  We  had  a  man  come  to  our  commission, 
blind  in  one  eye.  He  'asked  us  to  find  out  if  the  Auto  knitting 
machine  was  as  advertised.  We  have  a  very  fine  working  agreement 
with  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  Mr.  Elton,  of  New  York, 
volunteered  to  have  a  personal  investigation  made.  This  investiga- 
tion was  made  by  an  agent  in  Rochester,  the  home  of  the  knitting 
machine,  right  on  the  ground.  I  would  suggest  that  if  any  of  the 
members  of  this  conference  desire  any  information  in  this  connec- 
tion, Mr.  Elton  would  be  just  as  glad  to  hand  it  to  you  as  he  was 
to  us. 

Mr.  GRANT.  How  about  the  Gayheart  people  ? 

Mr.  FULMER.  We  have  not  entered  into  this  proposition,  but  before 
doing  that  I  wrote  to  Director  Wilson,  of  New  York,  and  he  came 
back  with  the  same  statement  that  Mr.  Spitz  has  just  made. 

Mr.  SHAW.  We  have  had  experience  with  the  Auto  Knitting  Machine 
Co.  The  first  proposition  by  the  Gayheart  people  was  to  give  me 
10  per  cent  on  all  the  sales.  We  have  had  three  purchases  in  Cin- 
cinnati. We  have  had  one  success  out  of  three  tries.  The  Auto 
Knitting  Machine  will  pay  and  the  Gayheart  will  pay  $1.50  per  dozen 
pairs.  The  literature  is  all  what  it  promises.  You  are  going  to  find 
a  discouraged  spirit.  If  there  is  a  market  for  the  product,  or  if  there 
is  some  agency  that  will  market  the  product,  you  are  all  right,  but 
if  you  have  to  rely  on  the  individual  you  are  going  to  meet  with 
failure.  We  gave  it  an  honest,  fair  trial.  We  watched  each  of  them 
and  we  do  not  believe  in  it. 

Mr.  LAND.  May  I  ask  Mr.  Grant  what  success  he  has  had  in  market- 
ing the  products  of  the  looms,  that  is,  rugs  ?  Any  market  for  hand- 
woven  rugs  ? 

Mr.  GRANT.  Very  successful  project  in  Sioux  City.  We  have  very 
good  cooperation  with  the  welfare  bureau  and  it  was  through  them 
that  we  worked  out  the  proposition  of  rug  weaving.  This  man  I 
spoke  of  was  a  Syrian.  We  got  him  the  training,  got  him  the  loom, 
and  he  has  made  as  high  as  eight  rugs  in  a  day.  That  man  and  his 
family  were  going  to  be  a  burden  on  the  welfare  bureau.  This  winter 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 


45 


they  told  me  that  they  had  given  them  no  family  relief,  excepting 
perhaps  one  ton  of  coal,  so  that  the  family  was  entirely  removed 
from  dependency.  This  man  buys  his  materials,  makes  his  rugs 
mornings  and  evenings,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  day  hurries  out 
and  sells  them.  He  has  made  his  success  on  plain  rug  weaving  and 
has  sold  many  of  them  among  the  Syrians  in  his  community. 

Question.  What  is  his  disability  ( 

Mr.  GRANT.  Blindness. 

Mr.  HENRY.  We  have  not  many  pictures,  but  by  July  we  hope 
to  have  pictures  of  some  of  our  trainees  in  agriculture. 

Mr.  SCHNEIDER.  I  think  a  very  great  deal  of  our  work  in  agricul- 
ture resolves  itself  to  the  ingenuity  of  the  field  agent.  Bee  culture 
is  a  good  avenue  to  which  we  could  turn  certain  cases  for  rehabili- 
tation. I  am  strong  for  Mr.  Henry's  chickens  in  Montana,  but  there 
is  another  form  of  agriculture  that  we  employ  in  Missouri;  that  is, 
capon  production.  We  tried  it  with  a  man  60  years  of  age,  with 
both  legs  off  below  the  knees.  He  is  taking  training  with  a  man  en- 
gaged in  that  work  nows  With  fruit,  there  are  also  suggestions  open 
there.  I  think  that  summing  the  two  up  and  leaving  it  to  the  in- 
genuity of  the  field  agent,  much  can  be  done  for  the  disabled  men 
in  the  field  of  agriculture. 


GROUP  MEETING. 

MAY  16,  10.30  A.  M. 


CHAIRMAN:  R.  0.  SMALL,  Director  of  Vocational  Rehabilitation, 
Massachusetts. 

Chairman  SMALL.  The  first  speaker  on  this  morning's  program  is 
Mr.  Joseph  Spitz,  deputy  commissioner  of  rehabilitation,  New  Jersey. 

Mr.  SPITZ.  My  chief,  Col.  Lewis  T.  Bryant,  was  to  have  been 
with  you  this  morning,  but  was  unable  to  get  here.  I  bring  you 
his  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  your  meeting.  He  has  given  me 
his  paper  to  read. 

SECURING   COOPERATION   OF  INDUSTRIAL   MANAGEMENT  IN 
THE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  THE  DISABLED. 

LEWIS  T.  BRYANT,  Commissioner  of  Labor,   New  ^eisfc^. 
(Read  by  Mr.  SPITZ.) 

A  comprehensive  rehabilitation  law  enacted  in  the  State  of  New 
Jersey  in  1919  designates  that  the  statute  shall  be  enforced  by  a 
commission  at  present  comprised  of  Dr.  Fred  H.  Albee  as  chairman, 
Mr.  Peter  Campbell,  president  of  the  Nairn  Linoleum  Works,  repre- 
senting employers,  and  Mr.  Gregory  Adlon,  representing  the  workers 
of  the  State. 

The  ex  ofncio  members  of  the  commission  are  Mr.  Burdette  I. 
Lewis,  commissioner  of  institutions  and  agencies;  Mr.  John  E. 
Enright,  commissioner  of  education,  and  Col.  Lewis  T.  Bryant, 
commissioner  of  labor.  The  active  member  representing  the  New 
Jersey  State  Department  of  Education  is  Dr.  Wesley  A.  O'Leary, 
assistant  commissioner  of  education  and  vocational  director  of  our 
State  schools. 

The  New  Jersey  rehabilitation  law  was  enacted  by  legislation  and 
approved  by  the  governor  on  April  10,  1919. 

Upon  organization  of  the  commission,  it  was  the  consensus  of 
opinion  of  its  members  that  the  work  would  best  function  by  co-- 
ordinating its  activities  with  the  work  of  the  State  department  of 
labor,  in  which  department  is  lodged  the  responsibility  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  workmen's  compensation  bureau,  as  well  as  that  of 
46 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  47 

factory  supervision  and  the  Federal-State  and  municipal  employ- 
ment system. 

A  representative  of  the  rehabilitation  division  is  detailed  at  all 
compensation  centers.  Likewise  a  rehabilitation  vocational  ex- 
aminer is  active  in  the  employment  offices,  being  accorded  the 
fullest  degree  of  cooperation  to  obtain  opportunities  for  placement 
training  in  industrial  establishments  for  such  handicaps  as  are 
registered  in  his  district. 

Labor  Department  units,  comprising  headquarters  for  work- 
men's compensation  hearings,  employment  service,  factory  inspec- 
tion direction,  and  rehabilitation  clinics  have  been  instituted  in  the 
following  cities  of  our  State:  Newark,  Jersey  City,  Camden,  Trenton, 
and  Paterson. 

While  New  Jersey  ranks  as  the  sixth  industrial  State  of  the  Union, 
it  is  appreciated  that  geographically  it  makes  itself  responsive  to 
close  contact  and  supervision  for  those  desirous  of  being  accorded 
the  advantages  of  physical  as  well  as  vocational  rehabilitation. 

Through  the  cooperation  of  the  State  commissioner  of  education 
as  well  as  the  assistant  commissioner,  Dr.  Wesley  A.  O'Leary,  the 
rehabilitation  commission  is  kept  fully  advised  as  to  scholastic 
opportunities  prevalent  in  New  Jersey  which  may  be  of  interest 
to  those  desiring  general  or  vocational  reeducation. 

The  State  department  of  institutions  and  agencies,  by  direction  of 
Commissioner  Burdette  I.  Lewis,  is  active  in  directing  the  channel 
for  handicaps  who  are  in  need  of  institutional  or  home  supervision 
and  instruction. 

The  New  Jersey  Commission  for  the  Blind  is  conducted  as  a 
separate  division  cooperating  with  the  rehabilitation  commission 
for  blind  cases  or  for  corrective  physical  care  of  the  blind. 

The  State  of  New  Jersey  was  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  Dr. 
Fred  H.  Albee  as  chairman  of  the  rehabilitation  commission. 

By  his  advice  and  counsel  our  system  of  physical  rehabilitation 
was  made  possible.  With  a  medical  director  selected  by  virtue  of 
his  professional  capabilities  in  charge  of  each  clinic,  baking, 
massage,  functional  reeducation,  heliotherapy,  electrotherapy, 
dressings,  operations,  plaster  casts,  hydrotherapy,  and  orthopedic 
appliances  are  administered.  Physical  examinations,  X  rays,  and 
pathological  laboratory  tests  are  also  made  through  the  medical 
division. 

A  typical  report  of  the  medical  activities  for  the  month  of  April 
is  presented  herewith. 


IS  \  <><  \  rin\  \i,  KI.II  \I;II.IT.\  i  ION. 

(  \<-\\  .uk      \     .1       i  Inn. 
I.    link..!..  ................... 

'     ^ 

:i.  Km  1.  1  1.  >n  1  1  reeducation     .................................. 

i    ii.-ii..iiii-i.i|.\  ........  r1 

•    EJleetrotherapj   ......................................  i  '«» 

6     iM.-.injjn  ..........................................  .......  :i«i 

,    Operation 

M:.|.>,  ...............................  I 

Mnu.r  ..................... 

I'i  i    :.  :    .    i    i  ................................  I 


in   Orthopedic  an  'km.  •<«,•<  ................................  i 

i.  .01 

!•'  vim  i  lull-  MI      ........................................... 

\  rayt        .............................................  is 

l'ut.hoiovrie»l  .......................................  12 

''10 

r.'i.it  I.M  \.-\v.nk    \   .1  ,  clinic  tor  month  of  April    1922  i   ,c.u 

Our    vocational    c\a  miners    endeaxor    In    rccdilca  I  e    or    train    voca 
lion:dl\     such     mdi\  ulu.nls    ilinl     pliysicnl     and     iiUMilnl    <>\:imm:it  ion 
slu>\v  siiscoplihlo  of  iviMlurahon  or  I  r.-iiuin^. 

ui-  strips  frequently  determines  dmt   ihr  liniHlicaj)  should 

in    uniiUMli.Mli'    rcnniiuM-nlix  c    »MM|>!OVUUMI|     llinl     Icuds    io 
,  l>u(    if  Ihc   iudi\  idunl   is   responsive,  i;vMcnd  (Mlucation   or  a 
vocal  ioiinl  Iramiuu:  eoui'se  is  ollVr«Ml  al   e\(M\m^  sessions. 

\Vher»>  a  handicap  is  not  susceptible  to  training,  cll'ort  is  dii-(M-ted 
lo  locate  him  in  employment  l>est  suited  to  the  applicant's  handicap 
and  capaluhl  \ 

The  cooperntion  of  industrial  management  in  i\\(*  employment  of 
the  disahleil  is  hased  on  t  \\  o  principles  confidence,  and  education 
of  the  obligation  tliu»  the  handicap. 

As  a  general  principle  (lie  rehabilitation  commission  has  presumed 
that  the  greatest  obligation  to  the  injured  worker  should  he  assumed 
by  the  management  of  the  j)lnnt  wherein  he  was  injured,  und  as  a 
conseipience  tlu»  lirst  nvenue  of  appi'oach  is  mnde  in  this  direction. 

While  it  has  been  ur^ed  that  an  injured  \\orkcr  will  not  proper!  \ 
respond  to  rccmplo\  men!  under  conditions  wherein  he  was  hurl,  it 
is  generally  found  that  some  other  opening  in  the  same  plant  is  ob 
tamable.  The  placement  of  the  handicapped  should  he  considered 
from  the  \ie\\point  not  onl\  of  securing  an  immediate  connection  by 
which  he  will  be  self  -support  ing,  but  also  his  future  development  in 
the  work  selected,  in  order  that  he  may  be  equipped  to  continue  on 
the  basis  of  real  service  in  the  event  that  he  loses  this  particular  posi- 
tion. While  the  absolute  necessity  of  prompt  placement  is  apparent 
in  a  lar^e  majority  of  cases  hv  reason  of  their  famil\  obligations,  the 
selection  of  a  job  which  is  otTered  more  in  the  form  of  a  charily  than 


VOCATIONAL    KKH  A  f',1  J.I  I  40 

M  opening  for  de velopmcnt    ,hould   be  di  lOOttTftgdd,     The  a 
'    to  ;i   position  for  which  the  wo  ;   a  rompcn  ,;it  10;. 

tire!  fyof  tion;.u-    lo    the    services    rendered     may    accompli, h 

immediate  relief,   hut,  v, :  'iv   tend   tov,  urd   the  development,  of 

of  continuity  of 

plovment.      In  m  always  to  be  borne  in  mind 

that  where  ;it.  Jill  po  -iUe  t.hr-,  workman  should  \)f.  eventually  (ii|uippf,rj 
HO  Unit,  \\c  i  .  ;on  on  \.\n:  f>}isi-,  of  serviCCH  : 

\t\c\\\  of  charity. 

In   -f-rjjrin^  \.\K-.  coof^-.ration    of   inrJu^t.rial  rnaria^crrMtnt   t,h. 
<:if>h-  nhouUl    hr-   cU-arly   \*.(-.\t\.   iri    rninrj    and    the,   appeal   rnao1*-,   to   the 
,-•   on    thr-    \).;  <<-M\-\\\'f!   \\\  •.   Mflf tAn<:<',    in    ohhiJnin'/    t.hr; 

ult.irnaOr   training  ano1   (•rjijiprnr-nt,  of  thrt  wo:  /  /)'    of  ' 

rh-rjr-,<.  hf.i.v/ff-.n  tfir-  H  /i  af>il  i  tat  ion  commission  ami  manax'-mcnf.  anrl 
n-al  eOOperAtion  hcd  in  a  flay,  hut  only  by  GOfe 

tinucrl  inf-clli^cnt.  anH  faith; 

In  \»:v/  .h-rscy   many  of  the  cont.a'  -;iaol»-  f> . 

•j  tfjf-  inc-riium  of  i/.  •/  inspectors 

ano1  'ani/.c<J  cmployrne/jt  service.     The  actual  admin- 

'ion  of  the  rchabilitat.iof.  'i/nate,ly  as  0  •'V'ith 

ition  of  t.he.  !>cpart.me.nt.  of  Labor,  whicii  |j as,  through  it« 
years  of  conduct,  obtained  an  almost  complete  acquaintance  with 
the  mana;."-menf,  of  industry  in  the  State,  Tn»  sible  a  personal 

appeal  for  COOpe»tioO  Then,  tOO  tlie  majority  of  the,  employment 
offices  an-,  maintained  in  direct,  cooperation  with  the,  chamber**  of 
commerce  of  the  cities  wherein  they  are  located,  both  through  com- 
mittees cooperating  m  management,  and  through  financial  aBttifttance 
in  their  maifjierj;;: 

In  most  of  the,  offices  the  chamber  maintains  a  direct  representative 
aMOHting   materially    in    the   efficient    administration    of    the   se; 
The,  <-l  of  t.hr-  rehabilitation  communion  maintains  intimate 

relations  with  the  employment  managers,  atte/jdin/  the  m'-r-tmj/H  of 
their  local  associations  and  endeavoring  in  every  way  to  secure  the 

'  t  with  thr;  actual  employing  interests, 

working  very  closely  with  Jministration,  a 

prompt  knowledge  of  the  injury  to  the  handicapped  JH  secured  and 

ruinm;'  either  at  school  or  upon  production  can  better  b' 
plished  during  the  period  of  payment,  of  compensation  award*. 

,nc  of  the,  very  important  function-,  of  the  rehaf>ili- 
tation  commission  is  to  furnish  advice  artd  assistance  at  this  critical 
period  of  a  work:  ife  when  jit  times  it  seems  that  thr;  burrh 

SO  severe  as  to  make  it,  difficult  to  maintain  the  proper  monde.      There 

can  be  no  doubt  that  inestimable  service  has  been  rendered  at  this 

:  moment  which  might,  pcrh;i;, 
M7*;r>    22        i 


50  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

doybtful  rehabilitation  work,  but,  from  our  viewpoint,  any  service 
which  may  make  it  easier  for  the  injured  to  face  life  with  the  handicap 
with  which  he  has  been  visited  is  clearly  within  the  province  of  the 
rehabilitation  commission's  obligation. 

It  is  as  difficult  to  define  a  " handicapped"  as  it  is  to  clearly  enu- 
merate the  obligations  for  service.  Many  workers  with  a  lesser 
degree  of  injury  are  a  far  greater  problem  than  those  of  higher 
standards  with  more  serious  handicaps.  The  greater  intelligence  and 
stronger  character  equip  one  with  a  determination  to  carry  on, 
whereas  another  with  inferior  initial  equipment  for  life  and  with  a 
shattered  morale  makes  necessary  the  helping  hand  of  the  rehabili- 
tation representative.  As  an  evidence  of  this  fact,  it  is  continually 
found  that  the  worker  for  one  reason  or  another  is  unable  to  secure 
any  type  of  remunerative  employment  through  his  original  employer 
or  elsewhere,  whereas  with  the  assistance  of  the  commission's  worker 
he  is  at  once  replaced  in  industry. 

In  closing,  I  feel  that  I  should  say  a  word  as  to  how  favored  each 
and  all  of  us  who  have  had  the  opportunity  of  becoming  part  of  this 
splendid  work  should  be.  The  opportunity  is  given  to  few  people 
in  this  world  to  obtain  a  livelihood  from  a  work  which  is  so  pregnant 
with  possibilities  of  service  to  humanity.  It  is  certainly  not  an  occu- 
pation for  the  time  server  or  the  slothful,  and  the  high  character  of 
men  and  women  who  are  being  attracted  to  the  work  is,  I  am  sure, 
a  guaranty  of  its  continual  growth  and  its  splendid  influence  in  the 
several  communities  wherein  we  labor. 

May  I,  through  my  representative,  on  the  occasion  of  the  national 
conference,  express  to  the  Federal  officials  in  charge  of  the  work  in 
Washington,  thanks  of  the  rehabilitation  commission  of  New  Jersey 
for  the  splendid  cooperation  and  assistance  which  they  have  accorded 
us  at  all  times  ?  We  fully  appreciated  the  visits  to  our  State  in  the 
past  and  trust  that  a  repetition  of  these  calls  may  assure  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  congenial  relationship  which  has  been  established. 

Mr.  SPITZ.  I  should  like  to  add  some  remarks.  A  woman  came  into 
our  office  and  said  that  her  husband  had  been  struck  on  the  head 
working  in  a  glass-refining  plant.  The  death  certificate  at  the  hos- 
pital read  that  the  patient  had  died  as  the  result  of  sleeping  sickness. 
The  widow,  with  five  children,  told  us  the  following  day  that  there 
seemed  to  be  some  question  as  to  whether  she  was  entitled  to  com- 
pensation. In  conjunction  with  the  social  agencies  with  which  we 
are  affiliated  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  we  undertook  to  establish 
this  widow's  right  to  compensation.  In  order  to  establish  her  case 
before  the  compensation  commission  we  directed  one  of  our  investi- 
gators to  the  city  in  which  the  person  died  and  got  a  complete  medical 
history.  Fortunately  the  doctors  at  the  hospital  construed  that 
sleeping  sickness  might  have  been  the  direct  result  of  the  accident. 


VOCATIONAL,  REHABILITATION.  51 

Then  we  sent  our  agent  to  get  a  statement  from  the  workers  of  the 
deceased.  We  are  endeavoring  to  establish  that  woman's  compen- 
sation at  $3,600;  300  weeks  at  $12  a  week.  It  means  a  great  deal  to 
this  woman  and  the  obligation  that  the  rehabilitation  commission 
feels  that  it  must  undertake  is  the  fact  that  the  injured  worker  and 
his  family,  the  widow  and  his  children,  are  entitled  to  the  best  that 
the  State  can  give,  so  that  in  connection  with  other  agencies  we  work 
to  assist  such  cases.  We  work  in  connection  with  a  society  known  as 
the  Mercy  Society  and  we  report  such  cases  and  it  becomes  necessary 
to  follow  the  case  until  the  children  have  reached  majority. 

I  might  say  in  closing  that  in  this  month's  issue  of  the  Archives 
of  Occupational  Therapy  the  case  of  vocational  rehabilitation  is 
fairly  well  established  in  the  editorial  by  Doctor  Hall,  of  Marble- 
head.  It  is  our  judgment  that  the  more  one  obliterates  technicality 
in  this  work  the  greater  will  be  our  degree  of  success.  The  forms 
which  we  use  are  those  compiled  by  Mr.  Kratz,  Miss  Copp,  and  Mr. 
Elton,  originally.  It  is  absolutely  essential  in  order  to  get  the  best 
results  to  have  the  best  possible  information  that  you  can  obtain 
from  the  handicapped  and  the  members  of  his  family. 

We  had  the  case  of  a  man,  with  wife  and  three  children,  on  the 
point  of  starvation;  first,  second,  and  third  degree  burns.  Had 
spent  approximately  $10,000  on  medical  treatment.  He  looked 
as  though  he  was  in  the  last  stage  of  pulmonary  trouble.  The 
wife  wanted  to  go  to  work  and  they  turned  her  down  in  the  plant 
to  which  she  made  application  on  the  ground  that  they  took  no 
married  women.  We  saw  the  superintendent  of  the  plant,  told  him 
the  facts  in  the  case,  and  they  put  her  on  for  $15  per  week,  and  the 
man  who  seemed  hardly  employable  was  to  care  for  the  children. 
We  investigated  the  case  several  days  later  and  we  found  that  she 
had  not  reported  for  work,  due  to  the  fact  that  she  was  down  to 
her  last  20  cents  and  said  that  if  the  children  were  to  starve  she 
would  starve  with  them.  We  sent  for  the  family,  brought  them 
to  the  office;  we  did  the  best  we  could  to  aid  and  assist  the  family 
with  money  and  food.  They  were  practically  starving  to  death. 
We  arranged  with  the  poor  master  to  give  them  $4  per  week.  We 
have  determined  that  we  will  put  that  man  back  into  industry. 

We  had  another  case  of  a  Syrian.  We  found  that  he  had  sold 
cigars,  and  we  put  him,  through  the  commission's  efforts,  with  one 
of  the  large  cigar  manufacturers  and  gave  him  employment  as  a 
salesman.  At  the  end  of  the  second  week  the  chap  came  back  to  us 
and  told  us  he  was  getting  $20  a  week  and  in  the  first  two  weeks 
brought  the  firm  $70. 

Chairman  SMALL.  Our  second  speaker  is  Mr.  C.  N.  Woodruff,  who 
represents  Supervisor  Angove,  of  Michigan. 


52  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

Mr.  WOODRUFF.  I  bring  two  apologies,  one  from  Mr.  Angove  that 
he  can  not  be  here  due  to  the  fact  that  he  has  some  speaking  engage- 
ments in  northern  Michigan  and  he  found  that  he  could  not  possibly 
call  the  dates  off,  and  the  other  apology  is  from  Doctor  Meade  of 
the  Ford  Motor  Company,  who  was  to  have  given  a  talk  here.  Since 
the  Ford  Company  has  taken  over  the  Lincoln  plant,  Doctor  Meade 
has  been  kept  so  busy  that  he  can  not  get  away  from  his  office. 

PERCY  ANGOVE,  State  Supervisor  of  Vocational  Rehabili- 
tation, Michigan. 

(Read  by  Mr.  WOODRUFF.) 

When  we  speak  of  rehabilitation  we  naturally  think  placement, 
•and  when  we  think  placement  our  minds  are  befogged  with  the 
numerous  and  diversified  essentials  involved  and  the  many  obstacles 
to  be  overcome  before  the  placing  of  a  person  on  the  job  can  be  made 
to  materialize  as  a  satisfactory  placement  in  the  mind  of  the  employer. 
This  means  that  the  man  is  satisfied  with  his  job  and  the  employer 
likewise  is  satisfied  with  results  on  the  basis  of  production. 

The  problems  to  be  met  with  when  selling  rehabilitation  to  em- 
ployers are  many.  Their  sympathy  in  most  cases  can  be  assured, 
but  this  is  not  all  that  is  desired.  They  perhaps  can  be  appealed  to 
on  the  basis  that  we  owe  a  duty  to  our  fellowmen  or  on  the  basis  of 
true  American  citizenship  in  that  all  people  have  a  right  to  become 
self-supporting  and  to  find  their  places  in  society.  We  can  preach 
that  men  with  certain  handicaps  can  successfully  handle  certain 
jobs,  but  are  we  convinced  of  this  fact  ourselves?  In  this  connec- 
tion, it  is  quite  possible  for  us  to  cite  cases  who  have  risen  above 
their  handicaps  and  are  now  making  enviable  records,  but  let  it  be 
understood  that  they  are  individual  cases. 

In  view  of  the  above  and  in  the  light  and  knowledge  of  previous 
experiences,  it  would  be  reasonable  and  safe  to  presume  that  the 
employer  must  and  should  be  approached  upon  the  basis  of  produc- 
tion, with  the  assurance  that  the  so-called  handicapped  person  would 
be  an  asset  and  not  a  liability  to  the  concern,  which  is  not  run  as  a 
charitable  organization  but  as  one  producing  a  commodity  for  which 
they  have  a  right  to  expect  reasonable  returns.  In  consequence, 
the  man  placed  on  the  job  is  producing  and  should  be  expected  to 
produce. 

Since  placement  is  our  greatest  problem  in  connection  with  the 
complete  work  of  vocational  rehabilitation,  it  is  evident  that  we  must 
look  for  a  means  to  an  end  in  meeting  the  situation.  Doctor  Strayer's 
Aid  of  Education  might  offer  food  for  thought  and  should  become 
realized,  "That  of  adjusting  the  individual  to  the  group  in  order  that 
the  welfare  of  society  as  a  whole  may  be  advanced."  In  other 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  53 

words,  for  one  to  be  able  to  adjust  himself  he  must.be  trained,  if 
necessary,  to  make  the  adjustment  and  then  adapt  himself.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  vocational  training  for  a  specific  job  is  the  only  definite 
solution  of  the  problem  before  us.  When  it  can  be  shown  that 
individuals  are  trained  for  certain  occupations,  the  doubt  once  fos- 
tered by  the  employer  will  give  way  to  a  realization  that  trained 
minds  and  skilled  hands  insure  production. 

The  types  of  training  naturally  should  vary  to  suit  the  individual 
needs.  For  some  cases  institutional  training  is  feasible  in  order  that 
the  necessary  background  may  be  furnished  upon  which  to  build  the 
vocational  training.  In  other  cases  the  training  is  most  satisfactory 
when  given  in  connection  with  a  trade  school,  whether  publicly  or 
privately  owned,  providing  that  the  desired  course  can  be  pursued  on 
a  commercial  basis.  For  most  cases,  however,  the  very  best  results 
are  obtained  when  training  is  given  on  the  job  and  under  the  instruc- 
tion and  influence  of  a  sympathetic  and  competent  journeyman  or 
foreman.  When  the  matter  of  final  placement  presents  itself,  it  is 
justifiable  to  approach  the' employer  on  the  grounds  that  the  person 
in  question  has  been  trained  for  a  definite  job,  can  do  the  work,  and 
consequently  should  receive  a  salary  equal  in  amount  to  that  of  a 
physically  normal  individual. 

When  I  was  asked  to  speak  upon  the  topic  under  discussion,  I  im- 
mediately set  out  to  ascertain  from  representative  people  just  what 
they  thought  of  the  matter  in  question.  •  Following  are  their  state- 
ments in  substance: 

From  the  general  employment  secretary  of  a  town  of  60,000  popu- 
lation : 

It  will  bring  to  our  industrial  concerns  a  sense  of  their  obligation  to  help  this  class 
of  citizens.  If  these  partially  disabled  individuals  have  any  sense  or  idea  of  gratitude 
toward  the  work  of  rehabilitation  and  the  employer  who  gives  them  a  chance,  they 
should  prove  permanent  workers. 

Your  work  is  a  concrete  evidence  of  practical  Christianity. 

Most  of  our  educational  projects  are  too  academic.  A  company  expects  a  man  to 
produce.  A  blind  man  may  not  produce  as  much  as  a  man  of  similar  ability  with  his 
sight,  but  if  he  is  industrious,  painstaking,  and  persistent  he  possibly  may  soon  over- 
come his  handicap  and  become  a  valuable  employee. 

From  the  employment  manager  of  one  of  the  large  industrial 
plants  in  Michigan : 

From  an  employer's  point  of  view,  it  seems  to  me  that  you  should  endeavor  to  make 
every  industrial  placement  on  the  assumption  that  your  particular  handicapped  man 
is  going  to  be  as  good  a  producer  as  the  man  with  all  his  physical  faculties.  You  must 
choose  his  job  with  his  particular  handicap  in  mind,  and  if  the  right  choice  is  made  the 
man  will  be  as  valuable  to  the  employer  as  though  he  were  physically  perfect.  We 
have  found  out  from  experience  that  handicapped  men  are  very  loyal  employees  and 
that  they  can  be  depended  upon. 


54  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

From  the  superintendent  of  labor  of  one  of  Michigan's  largest 
corporations  who,  when  approached  upon  the  subject  of  a  position 
for  which  one  of  our  handicapped  men  was  fitted  in  his  establish- 
ment, said: 

We,  who  are  employing  thousands  of  men,  realize  that  they  have  as  much  right 
to  earn  a  living  as  the  physically  perfect  men,  and  we  are  willing  to  find  suitable 
jobs  for  our  share  of  such  men. 

The  head  of  the  welfare  department  in  Michigan's  largest  auto- 
mobile concern,  who  has  the  responsibility  of  placing  their  conva- 
lescent and  handicapped  people  on  suitable  jobs,  made  this  state- 
ment: 

You  can  judge  by  looking  over  our  factory  and  looking  through  our  personnel 
records  of  men  whether  or  not  we  are  interested  and  sincere  in  the  work  of  rehabili- 
tation. Any  man  who  shows  the  right  spirit  is  given  a  chance  to  go  back  to  work 
after  he  has  been  more  or  less  disabled  by  accident  or  disease.  They  are  given  light 
work  and  placed  on  jobs  suitable  to  their  individual  needs. 

A  man  who,  until  recently,  was  head  of  the  safety  work  of  another 
large  automobile  corporation  stated  that  industrial  rehabilitation 
appealed  to  him  very  strongly.  Because  an  injured  man  never  can 
be  fully  compensated  for  the  loss  of  an  eye,  arm,  or  leg  by  the  money 
he  receives  from  accident  insurance  or  from  any  other  source,  he  felt 
that  vocational  rehabilitation  was  an  added  step  in  helping  the  man 
to  get  back  on  a  self-supporting  basis.  He  felt  that  accident  com- 
pensation furnished  temporary  relief  and  that  vocational  education 
or  training  by  the  State  would  insure  a  lasting  assistance  to  the  handi- 
capped man. 

These  statements  are  the  expressions  of  only  a  few  people  when 
making  contracts  with  industrial  establishments  on  behalf  of  indus- 
trial rehabilitation.  Other  instances  could  be  cited,  but  I  do  not 
wish  to  imply  for  one  moment  or  to  convey  the  impression  that  the 
matter  of  placement  in  Michigan  is  an  easy  one.  In  fact,  we  have 
very  few  placements  to  our  credit,  and  I  believe  that  this  is  true  of 
the  work  in  general.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  those  people  responsible 
for  the  employing  of  men  for  industrial  concerns  are  human  and  very 
much  so.  Because  of  the  present  industrial  situation  the  matter  of 
finding  positions,  even  for  physically  normal  people,  is  exceedingly 
difficult.  We  can  not,  or  should  not,  expect  an  employer  to  find  or 
create  jobs  for  handicapped  people  out  of  sympathy  for  the  individual 
and  at  a  loss  to  the  concern. 

We  must  think,  speak,  and  act  in  terms  of  production,  especially 
because  the  problem  right  now  is  not  by  any  means  an  easy  one. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  when  men  are  needed  to  fill  positions  the 
handicapped  people  will  be  given  due  consideration  along  with  the 
physically  normal  individuals,  providing  the  proper  authorities  are 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  55 

approached  on  the  basis  of  previous  suggestions  with  this  assurance — 
that  the  position  is  being  sought  for  the  man  who  can  do  the  work. 

We  must  endeavor  to  instill  within  the  conscience  of  the  handi- 
capped people  loyalty  to  their  employer  and  a  sense  of  responsibility 
in  regard  to  the  job  intrusted  to  them,  and  as  far  as  possible  avoid 
such  disastrous  occurrences  as  the  following  instance  depicts: 

Mr.  -  -  lost  his  leg  and  out  of  kindness  to  the  man  and  his 
family  a  company  in  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  trained  him  to  become  a 
spindle  carver.  After  much  time  and  endurance  in  teaching  him  the 
trade  he  became  an  expert.  The  company  paid  him  55  cents  an 
hour.  For  5  cents  more  an  hour  he  left  his  benefactors  to  work  for 
another  firm. 

Of  course,  a  man  is  entitled  to  all  he  can  earn  and  we  can  not 
blame  him  for  bettering  himself.  We  must  also  consider  or  recognize 
the  disastrous  effect  it  would  have  upon  the  former  employer,  espe- 
cially in  his  relation  to  vocational  rehabilitation.  However,  these  are 
very  rare  instances.  In  almost  every  case  the  man  becomes  very 
loyal  to  the  concern. 

Because  the  matter  of  placement  is  at  present  so  difficult,  we  must 
expect  very  slow  progress,  but,  because  of  the  rich  experience  that 
we  are  now  having,  rehabilitation  will  have  a  steady  growth.  What 
we  must  now  do  is  to  establish  correct  relations  between  the  indus- 
trial managements,  those  interested  in  rehabilitation,  and  the  handi- 
capped people  of  our  respective  States.  Thus  far  we  have  discussed 
the  essential  fundamental  elements  necessary  to  the  right  kind  of 
cooperation,  namely,  training  for  a  specific  job  or  part  of  a  job,  upon 
the  basis  that  training  and  practice  insures  skilled  labor  which,  when 
coupled  with  the  right  mental  attitude,  enables  the  individual  to 
produce  upon  the  merits  of  his  ability. 

There  are  to  be  considered  those  cases  for  whom  training  is  not 
necessary  or  feasible.  Other  methods  must  be  used  and  forces  in- 
volved in  order  that  desirable  contact  may  be  made.  After  the  case 
has  been  surveyed  and  the  decision  made  based  upon  vocational 
guidance,  definite  steps  must  be  taken  by  which  the  employer  can 
be  convinced  of  the  man's  ability  to  do  a  certain  job.  It  is  quite 
possible  for  an  individual  to  go  back  on  his  old  job  or  to  do  work 
closely  related  to  it,  but  he  will  be  more  or  less  awkward  at  the  work 
for  at  least  a  few  days  because  of  his  particular  type  of  handicap 
and  because  of  his  being  away  from  the  work  for  some  considerable 
time.  The  employers  and  those  in  direct  charge  must  necessarily  be 
patient  and  sympathetic  toward  the  individual.  But  here  again 
production  is  the  governing  feature.  For  this  type  of  handicapped 
person  it  would  take  only  two  or  three  weeks  for  him  to  adapt  him- 
self to  the  work  and  become  efficient.  This  goal  could  be  attained 
at  very  little  or  no  expense  to  the  concern,  providing  that  the  State 


56  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

pay  for  the  short  period  of  retraining,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  each 
State  might  well  lay  emphasis  upon  this  type  of  placement  training 
as  a  sound  and  justified  procedure  from  which  there  need  never  be 
cause  for  retraction. 

Of  course,  certain  simple  jobs  can  always  be  found  for  individual 
cases  for  which  any  form  of  training  is  unnecessary.  Yet  even  for 
some  of  these  a  day  or  two  on  the  job  at  State  expense  would  insure 
more  satisfactory  results.  It  might  appear  to  some  as  though  we 
were  paying  to  convince  the  employer,  but,  aside  from  accomplish- 
ing this,  the  psychological  effect  it  would  have  upon  the  worker 
would  be  worthy  of  any  consideration,  since  he  will  realize  that  he 
is  on  trial  and  will  only  be  retained  upon  condition  that  he  has  proven 
himself  an  asset  to  the  concern. 

In  Michigan  we  consider  ourselves  very  fortunate  because  of  the 
plan  of  cooperation  which  is  in  successful  operation  in  connection 
with  the  Detroit  public  schools.  Detroit,  representing  as  it  does 
approximately  one-third  of  the  total  population  of  the  State,  affords 
an  opportunity  for  systematic  treatment  of  all  phases  of  rehabilita- 
tion work.  Under  the  board  of  education  a  vocational  bureau  has 
been  organized  which  is  now  actively  engaged  in  a  program  of  service 
representing  all  phases  of  investigation,  advisement,  placement,  and 
follow-up  work  necessary  for  the  effective  administration  of  all 
parallel  lines  of  rehabilitation  activities.  The  bureau  is  immediately 
in  a  position  to  afford  local  leadership  in  carrying  forward  a  re- 
habilitation program  without  overhead  expense  to  the  State  depart- 
ment. The  State,  however,  provides  from  State  funds  salaries 
necessary  to  carry  this  additional  load  of  work.  This  item  for  the 
current  year  covers  salaries  for  two  placement  officers  and  one 
clerk.  These  officers  are  employees  of  the  division  of  rehabilitation, 
department  of  public  instruction,  and  consequently  are  under  its 
direct  supervision  just  as  though  the  Detroit  office  was  separate  and 
distinct  from  the  bureau.  For  purposes  of  administration,  however, 
connection  with  the  State  office  is  directly  through  the  vocational 
staff  officers  and  the  city  superintendent  of  schools. 

The  work  in  general  is  carried  on  exactly  the  same  as  for  the 
entire  State,  with  regular  weekly  reports  coming  to  the  State  office. 
This  plan  of  cooperation  offers  to  the  State  an  ever-increasing  fund 
of  knowledge  centering  around  training  and  placement.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  a  survey  of  trades  is  being  conducted  by  the  bureau  in 
small  as  well  as  large  establishments.  In  this  connection,  contact 
is  being  made  with  managements  regarding  jobs  which  are  and  can 
be  successfully  handled  by  handicapped  people.  After  the  survey 
is  completed,  the  jobs  within  a  job  will  be  listed  to  show  the  kinds 
of  work  which  can  be  done  by  individuals  suffering  from  certain 
handicaps.  This  material  will  also  show  the  establishments  in 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  57 

which  the  various  jobs  may  be  found.  At  present  a  similar  plan 
of  cooperation  is  being  considered  in  connection  with  the  vocational 
school  at  Grand  Rapids.  Let  it  be  understood  that  the  plan  takes 
in  the  city  at  large,  including  all  manufacturing  concerns,  whether 
small  or  large;  also  private  schools  or  schools  operating  for  gain,  as 
well  as  public  schools. 

The  preceding  remarks  constitute  a  discussion  of  means  whereby 
direct  contact  can  be  made  with  industrial  managements,  either 
through  institutional  training  or  placement  training  based  upon 
vocational  guidance.  But  in  addition  State  workers  must  solicit 
the  aid  of  existing  agencies,  such  as  industrial  accident  commissions, 
accident  insurance  companies,  labor  unions,  employment  bureaus, 
etc.  The  laws  under  which  these  organizations  are  working  should 
be  thoroughly  considered  and  a  complete  understanding  had  of  how 
their  benefits  could  affect  the  handicapped  man  by  means  of  mutual 
cooperation  with  the  State  department  of  industrial  rehabilitation. 

In  Michigan,  in  one  or  two  instances,  industrial  managements, 
when  approached  upon  the  subject  in  question,  stated  that  by 
taking  handicapped  people  in  their  employ  the  firm  was  placed  under 
greater  liability.  After  a  conference  with  the  State  commissioner 
of  insurance  and  a  representative  of  a  mutual  liability  company,, 
at  which  time  rehabilitation  was  discussed  in  general,  I  was  pleased 
to  learn  that  such  a  law  as  the  antidiscrimination  act  of  Minnesota 
is  unnecessary  in  Michigan,  since  the  only  case  where  the  employ- 
ment of  a  handicapped  man  places  the  concern  under  greater  liability 
is  when  the  concern  does  not  elect  to  operate  under  compensation 
laws  and  consequently  the  injured  man  sues  for  damages.  All 
persons  in  Michigan  injured  in  the  employ  of  concerns  which  insure 
their  employees  under  workmen's  compensation  insurance  risks 
receive  full  compensation,  which  is  60  per  cent  of  their  wage  at  the 
time  the  injury  was  received,  regardless  of  whether  or  not  they  were 
previously  handicapped  or  received  compensation  for  the  same. 
In  other  words,  the  company  is  not  required  to  pay  any  more 
insurance  for  a  man  minus  a  limb  than  for  a  physically  normal 
man.  Likewise,  in  case  of  a  second  injury,  the  first  is  not  taken 
into  consideration.  The  case  is  treated  without  discrimination. 
The  firms  operating  on  common-law  risk  in  Michigan  are,  com- 
paratively speaking,  few  in  number.  With  these  the  matter  of 
placing  handicapped  people  in  their  employ  is  practically  an  impos- 
sibility. But  it  is  very  evident  that  if  the  laws  under  which  the 
industrial  accident  commission  is  operating  make  no  distinction, 
the  problem  of  placement  is  materially  lessened  because  of  the  fact 
that  the  employer  as  well  as  employee  is  safeguarded  thereby. 

Other  agencies  which  can  help  solve  the  problems  centering 
around  placement  are  the  welfare  departments  and  safety  bureaus 


58  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

of  large  establishments.  The  people  in  charge  of  these  special 
branches  must  readily  see  that  with  the  aid  of  the  State  their  prob- 
lems as  well  as  the  State's  can  be  sympathetically  met  on  mutual 
grounds.  The  State  workers  must  realize  that  these  experts  have 
an  ever-increasing  fund  of  knowledge  at  their  disposal  as  well  as 
an  understanding  of  local  conditions.  They  are  interested  in  the 
same  problems,  which  can  better  be  solved  by  mutual  understanding 
and  cooperation. 

We  are  perhaps  very  well  acquainted  with  the  necessity  of  the 
securing  of  such  help  through  the  means  described,  but  it  should 
constantly  be  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  general  public.  In  this 
connection  State  workers  should  freely  make  use  of  the  press.  Devel- 
opments or  anything  of  special  interest  should  be  published.  Peri- 
odicals whose  circulation  reaches  the  right  class  of  people  should  be 
made  use  of.  In  Michigan  the  editors  of  such  magazines  are  enthu- 
siastic in  giving  the  work  of  industrial  rehabilitation  every  support 
through  the  columns  of  their  publications,  and  it  is  my  opinion 
that  we  must  not  keep  the  work  in  the  background,  because,  if  for 
no  other  reason  than  a  social  and  economical  one,  it  is  of  profound 
interest  to  the  State  and  Nation.  Why  is  it  that  individuals  are 
glad  to  lend  a  listening  ear?  Why  is  it  that  clubs  such  as  Rotary, 
Kiwanis,  Lions,  and  many  others  are  so  eager  to  have  State  repre- 
sentatives appear  on  their  programs?  And  why  is  it  that  they 
indorse  the  work  without  question?  Because  they  realize  that  it 
is  one  of  the  greatest  pieces  of  humanitarian  and  educational  legisla- 
tion ever  enacted  by  any  State  or  nation.  I  predict  for  civilian 
rehabilitation  a  future  worthy  of  all  the  efforts  we  can  now  put 
forth,  because  it  is  a  forward  step  in  modern  civilization,  meeting 
a  need  for  which  there  is  great  demand.  A  retrospect  of  the  past 
shows  that  recent  developments  have  been,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, for  the  physically  normal  individual.  Until  this  latest  enact- 
ment, we  have  had  no  definite  provision  made  for  that  class  of 
people  who  are  less  capable  of  taking  care  of  themselves.  Now  their 
future  can  be  assured  upon  the  basis  that  they  are  no  longer  de. 
pendent  upon  charity  for  a  living,  a  means  having  been  provided 
whereby  the  aid  of  the  State  is  secured  to  make  of  themselves  self- 
supporting  citizens. 

I  wish  to  state  again,  as  in  the  beginning  of  this  discussion,  that 
Michigan  claims  no  great  honors  in  regard  to  the  securing  of  employ- 
ment for  handicapped  people,  because  we  are  passing  through  an 
unusual  period.  Then,  too,  the  work  is  practically  in  its  infancy. 
But  it  is  my  opinion  that  industrial  managements  will  give  due  con- 
sideration to  a  worthy  cause,  since  in  my  experience  I  find  that  the 
employers  are  usually  men  big  of  heart  and  honest  in  their  intentions. 
For  the  sake  of  the  future  of  the  handicapped  people  in  our  respective 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  59 

States,  we  must  think,  speak,  and  act  in  terms  of  production,  which 
is,  generally  speaking,  insured  by  skilled  labor — by  labor  made  skill- 
ful through  training  and  practice. 

The  above  is  a  treatise  on  the  topic  assigned,  and  I  believe  is  based 
upon  sound  theory  and  practice.  Experience  in  the  work  of  rehabili- 
tation continuously  demonstrates  to  us  that  the  methods  expounded 
would  insure  tangible  results.  Other  phases  might  be  worthy  of 
space  and  consideration,  and  of  course  are  absolutely  essential,  but  I 
have  discussed  what  I  consider  the  logical  and  outstanding  features. 
At  least  they  might  be  considered  as  food  for  thought  in  bringing 
about  a  solution  of  the  problem  before  us. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

Mr.  GRANT.  I  would  like  to  raise  a  question  which  I  do  not  believe 
has  been  touched  upon  by  the  previous  speakers.  In  talking  with 
large  employers,  I  frequently  find  an  attitude  on  their  part  of  unwil- 
lingness to  reemploy  the  men  who  have  been  injured  in  their  plant. 
Two  considerations  seem  to  arise  in  their  mind.  In  the  first  place, 
they  are  afraid  of  establishing  a  precedent  which  they  may  be  required 
to  follow,  that  they  will  reemploy  all  their  injured  workmen,  the 
men  being  thus  led  to  believe  that  they  are  sure  of  employment 
by  that  firm  whether  or  not  they  make  good  on  the  job.  The  second 
consideration  which  appears  to  arise  in  their  minds  is  that  in  any 
given  case  the  accident  will  probably  have  been  due  to  carelessness, 
and  a  man  who  has  had  one  accident  as  a  result  of  carelessness  and 
is  inclined  to  be  careless  is  likely  to  have  other  accidents. 

Mr.  WOODRUFF.  I  have  been  a  safety  engineer  for  a  period  of  two 
years  in  a  mechanical  plant,  and  I  want  to  say  that  records  disprove 
that  a  man  is  an  added  risk  who  has  suffered  a  serious  accident.  He 
has  had  his  lesson  and  is  going  to  be  a  more  careful  man  in  the  future 
for  having  had  that  accident.  I  have  heard  certain  safety  men  and 
foremen  say  that  a  man  should  be  dismissed  who  has  been  careless 
and  suffered  an  accident,  but  this  should  not  be.  Statistics  prove 
on  the  other  hand  that  he  is  going  to  be  a  safe  man  in  the  future.  If 
the  company  keeps  records  it  will  prove  every  time  that  a  man  will 
be  more  careful  in  the  future. 

Mr.  SPITZ.  What  the  gentleman  from  Michigan  said  is  that  the 
injured  workman  does  not  very  often  repeat  his  carelessness  in  the 
second  place.  It  has  been  said  in  New  Jersey  that  if  a  worker  had 
lost  an  eye  and  was  compensated  for  that  eye  and  then  through 
another  accident  lost  the  other  eye,  the  employer  at  the  time  of  the 
second  accident  could  not  be  held  responsible  for  total  disability 
because  the  total  disability  did  not  occur  out  of  and  in  the  course 
of  employment,  so  that  it  is  rare  indeed  that  such  an  accident  does 
duplicate,  as  the  gentleman  from  Michigan  has  explained,  but  we 


60  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

have  that  answer  and  interpretation  from  our  commission  and  one 
of  the  big  jobs,  as  we  see  it,  is  to  educate  the  employer  up  to  our 
standard  of  vision — that  the  handicapped  can  be  made  an  asset  rather 
than  a  liability. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  We  had  the  case  of  a  man  who  lost  one  eye  and  was 
taken  care  of  by  the  Wisconsin  statutes.  This  man  was  operating 
a  grinding  machine  at  the  time  of  his  injury.  I  found  him  back  at 
the  grinding  machine.  Now  I  believe  that  fellow  should  have  been 
placed  in  some  other  job,  if  he  had  lost  his  eye  there.  There  is  more 
of  a  hazard,  so  we  have  to  use  a  little  judgment  in  placing  the  man 
back  at  the  job,  although  he  could  do  the  work.  There  are  some 
employments  that  offer  additional  hazards  to  certain  kinds  of  handi- 
caps. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  am  wondering,  is  it  possible  to  determine  why  the 
employer  takes  the  attitude  he  does,  whether  or  not  it  is  a  mental 
attitude  toward  the  man  who  is  careless.  If  you  have  had  any 
conferences  in  foreman  training,  using  the  illustration  of  accident 
due  to  carelessness,  while  discussing  the  matter  of  carelessness  on 
the  job,  you  will  recall  that  the  foreman  when  asked,  "What  would 
you  do?"  says,  "I  would  fire  him,  separate  him  from  his  job."  He 
does  not  go  back  of  the  important  fact  that  this  man  was  careless. 
But  the  question  arises,  why  was  this  man  careless,  wiiat  are  the 
causes,  and  you  begin  to  discuss  the  matter.  You  list  the  reasons 
why  men  are  careless  and  you  find  it  is  because  they  have  not  been 
fairly  instructed,  etc.  The  answer  to  each  of  them  is  that  the  man 
should  not  be  fired  for  most  of  those  cases  of  carelessness.  Of 
course,  there  are  cases  of  willful  or  persistent  carelessness  for  which 
the  man  should  be  separated  from  his  job.  After  going  through 
this  the  foreman  is  inclined  to  retain  the  man.  I  am  wondering 
if  the  employer  is  in  a  similar  state  of  mind.  This  fellow  was 
careless  and  he  got  hurt.  The  employer  does  not  stop  to  consider 
why  the  man  was  hurt;  was  it  through  carelessness,  through  igno- 
rance, or  any  one  of  a  dozen  causes  that  we  might  mention  for  the 
purpose  of  causing  them  to  appreciate  their  responsibility. 

Mr.  MEYER.  I  called  on  a  business  man  who  employs  about  1,000 
men  and  he  said  to  me,  "I  do  not  want  to  place  that  disabled  man 
because  of  the  psychological  effect  it  will  have  on  the  other  em- 
ployees. They  would  not  want  to  work  because  they  feel  that 
it  is  a  hazardous  occupation."  He  had  this  attitude  because  the 
friends  of  this  person  would  look  upon  the  work  as  hazardous. 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  A  young  lady  lost  her  hand  in  a  press;  we  wanted  to 
train  her  and  get  her  back  on  the  job.  The  first  statement  of  the 
employer  was:  "  We  will  help  her  all  we  can  but  we  do  not  want  her 
back.  If  we  employ  this  woman  without  a  hand,  and  it  is  known  she 
lost  her  hand  in  our  employ,  it  would  have  a  tendency  to  create  a 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  61 

feeling  of  dissatisfaction  among  the  other  employees,  believing  it  to 
be  an  unusually  hazardous  employment."  I  agreed  with  him  to  a 
certain  degree.  I  told  him:  "If  it  is  to  your  advantage  to  get  your 
employees  from  the  community  surrounding  the  plant — this  girl  is 
known  around  here.  It  is  known  that  she  is  going  to  be  trained  for 
a  different  line  of  work.  It  is  known  to  all  your  employees — you 
are  going  to  add  to  the  stigma.  You  are  going  to  create  disabled  per- 
sons, and  then  to  add  to  that  the  fact  that  you  will  just  cast  them 
out."  He  rather  admitted  the  strength  of  that  argument  and  after 
a  time  he  agreed  with  me  that  the  better  plan  would  be  to  reemploy 
disabled  persons  whenever  they  could  be  employed  in  suitable 
employment. 

Another  case  was  a  man  55  years  old,  a  highly  skilled  pressman, 
who  lost  a  hand  in  employment.  The  publishing  company  admitted 
that  he  could  possibly  do  something  more  in  the  plant,  but  could  not 
be  quite  as  competent  as  he  had  been  before.  Still  the  employer  held 
back;  did  not  want  to  reemploy  the  man.  Their  final  argument  was, 
you  are  a  rehabilitation  agency,  you  can  and  will  take  a  man  who  is 
disabled  and  make  him  fit  for  another  employment.  My  answer 
was  that,  with  having  been  employed  in  this  line  of  work  all  his  life, 
what  reasonable  argument  do  you  have  to  think  we  can  take  him  at 
55,  beyond  the  age  at  which  it  is  expected  a  man  is  receptive  to  a 
different  kind  of  work,  and  make  him  self-supporting  on  a  different 
line?  He  was  replaced  with  the  firm,  back  at  the  wage  he  had  re- 
ceived before. 

Mr.  SPITZ.  In  answer  to  Director  Wright,  as  to  bringing  the 
employer  to  the  viewpoint  of  the  rehabilitation  agency,  I  might  say 
it  was  my  privilege  to  attend  a  conference  that  was  called  in  Chicago 
by  the  Federal  Board,  and  at  that  meeting  we  were  addressed  by  the 
vice  president  of  the  Pullman  Co.,  an  organization  that  employs 
approximately  50,000  men  and  women,  and  his  job  was  that  of  reha- 
bilitation with  the  Pullman  Co.  and  he  dwelt  on  it  in  detail,  and  so  we 
have  taken  opportunity  to  use  that  example  to  the  managers  and 
foremen  in  New  Jersey  showing  that  if  the  Pullman  Co.  could  take 
rehabilitation  as  their  own  responsibility,  why  not  others. 


GENERAL  MEETING. 

MAY    16,    2    P.    M. 


CHAIRMAN:  J.  C.  WRIGHT,  Director,  Federal  Board  for  Vo- 
cational Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Chairman  WRIGHT.  Mr.  Mclntosh,  who  is  scheduled  for  the  first 
part  of  the  program,  has  not  arrived,  and  perhaps  will  not  be  in  at- 
tendance at  all.  We  shall  need  to  make  some  adjustments  in  the 
order  of  the  program  because  of  absentees.  There  are  several  people 
here  to  take  their  places,  so  that  the  numbers  will  be  filled.  I  am 
going  to  call  upon  a  man  who  is  on  the  program  and  who  perhaps  has 
had  as  much  to  do  in  forming  the  national  vocational  education 
policy  of  this  country  as  any  other  person,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  Doctor  Prosser.  His  interest  has  been  from  the  standpoint  of  public 
service.  In  1914  the  President  appointed  a  committee  to  study  the 
needs  of  our  country  for  a  national  act  for  the  promotion  of  vocational 
education.  That  commission  was  called  to  meet  in  Washington 
early  in  the  spring  of  1914.  Under  the  terms  of  the  act  the  appropria- 
tion was  limited.  I  do  not  know  how  many  of  you  have  ever  read 
that  report  to  the  President.  It  is  well  worth  your  time  to  do  so  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  philosophy  of  that  commission.  There  was  a 
man  from  the  State  of  Indiana  who  had  had  a  number  of  years' 
experience  in  State  legislation  and  who,  therefore,  came  to  the  Pres- 
ident's commission  with  considerable  experience.  Doctor  John  A.  Lapp 
is  the  man  referred  to.  I  do  not  know  what  Doctor  Lapp  will  tell 
you  here  to-day,  but  I  do  know  that  whatever  he  tells  will  be  of 
interest  to  us. 

SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  VOCATIONAL  REHA- 
BILITATION. 

Dr.  JOHN  A.  LAPP,  Editor,  The  Nation's  Health,  Chicago,  111. 

It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  see  so  many  representatives  from  so 
large  a  number  of  States  assembled  to-day  to  discuss  one  phase  of 
the  vocational  education  problem.  This  meeting  is  in  marked  con- 
trast with  the  early  days  of  the  promotion  of  vocational  education, 
say  10  or  15  years  ago.  I  remember  one  of  the  early  great  conven- 
tions in  Indianapolis  about  15  years  ago  to  discuss  the  subject  of 
vocational  training.  The  meeting  had  been  nationally  advertised. 
62 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  63 

It  was  headed  by  strong  men  who  knew  how  to  plan  meetings.  On  the 
opening  night  of  that  conference  one  of  the  distinguished  lecturers  of 
the  country,  who  as  a  popular  lecturer  would  have  filled  any  hall  in 
the  city,  was  the  principal  speaker.  The  chairman  of  the  meeting 
informed  me  that  when  he  stepped  forward  to  introduce  this  distin- 
guished speaker  he  looked  into  the  faces  of  some  20  or  25  people. 
That  was  the  interest  in  the  subject  at  that  time.  To-day  we  have 
representatives  from  30  to  35  States  assembled  to  discuss  one  phase 
only  of  the  vocational  movement,  and  that  the  latest,  although  by 
no  means  the  least,  phase  in  the  great  movement  for  social  welfare. 

The  subject  which  I  am  scheduled  to  discuss  to-day  is  the  "  Social 
and  Economic  Significance  of  Vocational  Rehabilitation."  Let  me, 
if  possible,  at  the  outset,  place  before  you  the  part  which  vocational 
rehabilitation  plays  in  the  promotion  of  social  welfare.  I  would  like 
to  place  it  in  its  proper  setting  in  the  field  of  social  work.  In  the 
present  scheme  of  things  there  are  three  social  groups,  viewed  from 
an  economic  and  social  standpoint:  There  are  those  who  are  above 
the  line  of  economic  independence  and  who  are  likely  to  remain  there, 
barring  any  serious  calamity;  second,  there  is  the  great  class  of  peo- 
ple who  live  precariously,  who,  when  times  are  good  and  calamities 
do  not  happen,  are  able  to  support  themselves,  but  who  otherwise 
are  in  danger  of  falling  into  distress;  third,  there  is  the  class  of  peo- 
ple who  have  been  unable  to  sustain  themselves  and  have  fallen  into 
poverty.  The  trend  of  social  life  in  these  groups  is  from  higher  to 
lower  standards  due  to  the  calamities  of  life. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  people  slip  downward,  including 
sickness,  accident,  old  age,  vice,  unemployment,  etc.,  but  the  chief 
calamities  which  drive  people  down  and  hold  them  down  are  sick- 
ness and  accident,  the  very  subjects  with  which  vocational  rehabili- 
tation deals.  In  the  past  the  principal  object  of  social  work  was  to 
care  for  those  who  had  fallen  into  poverty.  The  next  great  step 
was  to  attempt  to  prevent  people  falling  into  poverty  by  preven- 
tive measures  and  by  stabilizing  economic  society  above  the  pov- 
erty line.  The  third  step  is  one  which  you  are  now  taking,  namely: 
The  rehabilitation  of  those  who  have  slipped  down  into  a  precarious 
living  or  into  poverty,  so  that  they  may  take  their  place  again  as 
wage-earners  and  lift  themselves  out  of  the  unhappy  state  into 
which  sickness  and  accident  have  driven  them.  It  can  be  readily 
seen,  therefore,  that  the  rehabilitation  of  handicapped  people  plays 
a  most  constructive  part  in  the  program  of  social  work.  It  is,  of 
course,  better  to  prevent  sickness  and  accident,  but  after  all  is 
done  that  can  be  done,  sickness  and  accidents  will  take  their  toll. 
Rehabilitation  comes  in  to  lessen  the  burden  of  care  and  to 
put  new  hope  into  the  individuals  who  have  been  victims  of  these 
calamities. 


64  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

At  this  point  let  me  point  out  the  widespreading  extent  of  the 
movement  in  which  you  are  making  beginnings.  At  present  the 
plan  extends  to  those  who  are  handicapped  from  injury.  It  will 
presently  extend  to  those  who  have  been  handicapped  by  sickness, 
and  it  will  not  merely  reach  those  who  have  fallen  into  distress  but 
will  be  a  powerful  factor  in  stabilizing  economic  conditions  among 
those  who  are  living  a  precarious  life.  Vocational  education  itself 
is  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  social  work,  through  the 
ability  which  it  gives  to  individuals  to  support  themselves  ade- 
quately. If  every  person  in  the  United  States  had  a  vocational 
education  there  would  be  far  fewer  individuals  slipping  down  from 
economic  independence  into  poverty.  When  the  full  extent  of  re- 
habilitation is  realized  in  practice,  the  field  will  be  many  times  larger 
than  that  which  we  now  contemplate.  There  are  fully  seven  times 
as  many  people  handicapped  by  sickness  as  by  accident,  and  the  prob- 
lem of  their  rehabilitation  is  perhaps  even  more  difficult  than  that 
of  rehabilitating  the  persons  who  have  been  crippled  by  accidents. 

It  is  apparent  to  all  in  this  movement  that  its  scope  is  much  broader 
than  mere  vocational  training;  it  is  interwoven  on  the  one  side  with 
medicine  and  surgery  and  on  the  other  with  social  work.  Those  who 
undertake  rehabilitation  through  vocational  education  soon  find  the 
necessity  for  physical  rehabilitation  as  a  preliminary.  The  physician 
and  surgeon  must  be  called  upon  to  help  in  restoring  the  physical 
functions  before  vocational  education  can  be  made  effective.  All  of 
the  means  of  physical  restoration,  including  the  provision  of  artificial 
appliances,  must  be  mobilized.  On  the  other  hand,  the  placement  of 
the  worker  for  training,  and  his  placement  afterwards  in  industry 
calls  for  the  highest  type  of  social  work.  There  is  no  case  work  more 
difficult  to  handle  than  the  placing  of  a  handicapped  man,  and  his 
mental  and  moral  rehabilitation  into  a  steady,  hopeful,  worker. 
Mental  and  physical  conditions  must  be  taken  into  consideration; 
the  morale  of  the  individual  must  be  established,  and  all  the  direful 
results  of  handicaps  must  be  overcome.  Those  who  engage  in  voca- 
tional rehabilitation  must,  therefore,  call  into  cooperation  all  of  the 
restorative  agents  on  the  one  side,  to  aid  them  in  fitting  a  man  for  em- 
ployment, and  on  the  other  side  all  of  the  skill  of  the  social  worker 
in  making  that  employment  permanently  effective.  Everyone  must 
recognize  that  it  is  not  merely  a  matter  of  education,  but  is  rather 
one  of  the  most  practical  forms  of  social  work  now  in  operation. 
The  work  which  you  are  called  upon  to  do  is  exactly  what  the  ad- 
vanced social  worker  has  done  in  handling  difficult  dependent  cases. 
She  has  had  to  call  in  the  physician,  surgeon,  educator,  mental 
hygienist,  and  occupational  adviser,  in  an  attempt  at  rehabilitation. 

Vocational  rehabilitation  is  merely  in  its  beginning.  Five  years  ago 
the  subject  was  scarcely  discussed.  To-day  we  have  34  States  coo] 


,es  coop- 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  65 

crating  with  the  Federal  Government  in  a  nation-wide  program.  Two 
years  ago  very  few  had  thought  of  the  wide  limits  of  the  program. 
To-day  we  have  come  to  realize  that  there  is  a  vast  range  of  activi- 
ties and  a  great  amount  of  salvage  to  be  obtained  from  the  wrecks 
caused  by  sickness  and  accident. 

When  the  vocational  rehabilitation  bill  was  first  proposed  in  Con- 
gress, it  was  thought  that  it  should  be  limited  to  the  persons  injured 
in  industry.  How  absurd  such  limitation  seems  to  us  to-day  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  are  coming  now  to  the  recognition  that  its  main 
purpose  should  be  outside  of  industry,  because  we  are  recognizing 
that  the  scope  of  workmen's  compensation  laws  should  be  broadened 
to  take  care  of  the  rehabilitation  of  those  who  are  injured  in  employ- 
ment. Why  should  it  not  be  a  burden  of  all  industry  to  handle  all 
of  the  results  of  accidents,  distributing  that  burden  by  insurance, 
rather  than  merely  to  give  the  small  cash  benefits  and  the  limited 
medical  service  now  given  ?  Workmen's  compensation  laws  are  being 
broadened,  and  some  day  in  the  not  far  distant  future  we  shall  find 
that  the  whole  financial  burden  of  rehabilitating  workers  injured  in 
industry  will  be  borne  under  the  workmen's  compensation  laws.  We 
shall  see  in  the  not  far  distant  future,  too,  the  recognition  that  the 
insurance  of  the  worker  against  the  loss  of  health  is  even  more  impor- 
tant than  insurance  of  his  loss  by  accident.  We  shall  in  the  not  far 
distant  future  have  health  insurance  as  a  means  of  stabilizing  condi- 
tions of  workers,  and  that  insurance,  too,  will  then  be  recognized  as 
covering  the  rehabilitation  of  the  worker  when  he  has  been  forced 
by  sickness  out  of  the  ranks  of  the  employed.  The  advantage  of 
these  schemes  of  insurance  will  be  primarily  that  they  will  provide 
funds  to  carry  on  the  work  which  you  are  now  beginning. 

The  statement  is  frequently  made  that  these  desirable  ends  are 
good,  but  may  not  be  obtained  because  of  the  cost  entailed.  That 
statement  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  the  social  order  is  bankrupt; 
that  it  can  not  pay  its  debts.  The  statement  overlooks  the  fact 
that  these  burdens  are  being  borne  now  but  are  not  so  distributed 
as  to  be  borne  easily.  We  are  to-day  carrying  our  social  burdens 
chained  around  our  feet.  If  we  place  these  burdens  upon  our  backs 
and  properly  distribute  them,  they  can  be  borne  with  comparative 
ease.  The  total  cost  of  providing  adequate  compensation  against 
accident  and  disease,  through  the  means  of  insurance,  is  so  slight 
when  distributed  over  the  whole  body  as  to  be  scarcely  a  burden 
at  all.  It  is  merely  a  matter  of  tackling  the  whole  problem  com- 
prehensively and  distributing  the  cost  scientifically  as  a  social 
burden.  It  has  been  fairly  well  demonstrated  that  there  are  three 
factors  in  the  decay  of  individuals:  First,  the  industry  in  which 
he  works;  second,  society  which  fails  adequately  to  protect  him: 
14765—22 5 


66  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

and  third,  the  individual's  own  weaknesses  and  vice.  These 
factors  are  about  equal  as  causes  of  physical  deterioration  and 
handicaps.  If  such  be  the  case  we  might  reasonably  distribute  the 
burden  of  all  this  work  in  about  that  proportion :  one-third  to  industry, 
one-third  to  individuals,  and  one-third  to  society  as  a  whole. 

What  has  been  accomplished  thus  far  should  make  us  all  optimistic 
for  the  future.  Fifteen  years  ago  we  had  very  little  vocational 
training  of  any  kind;  we  had  very  few  effective  child  labor  laws; 
we  had  no  workmen's  compensation  acts  for  industrial  accidents; 
there  were  few  effective  factory  inspection  departments;  very  little 
of  the  great  comprehensive  legislation  of  the  last  ten  years  had  been 
enacted.  In  this  brief  space  of  ten  years  we  have  accomplished 
much.  Vocational  education  has  become  a  national  system;  work- 
men's compensation  laws  have  been  enacted  in  forty-three  States; 
child  labor  laws  in  forty-five;  factory  inspection  laws  in  a  large 
number.  All  of  these  and  many  others  have  resulted  in  great 
social  good,  and  now  we  have  this  achievement  in  which  you  are 
taking  the  leading  part,  the  program  for  vocational  rehabilitation 
of  handicapped  people,  which  is  in  my  judgment,  although  the 
latest,  still  the  greatest  boon  to  social  welfare. 

Chairman  WRIGHT.  The  next  speaker  this  afternoon  is  Dr.  George 
B.  Mangold. 

Dr.  GEORGE  B.  MANGOLD,  Missouri  School  of  Social  Work, 
Missouri  State  University,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Vocational  rehabilitation  is  a  distinct  and  important  form  of  social 
work.  There  is  no  object  in  denying  that  it  is  social  work,  for  in  its 
genuine  essence  it  is  a  form  of  work  absolutely  parallel  with  other 
forms  of  social  service.  In  one  sense  it  lies  in  the  field  of  prevention, 
for  if  successfully  carried  out,  it  will  prevent  poverty,  homelessness, 
and  family  dependency.  In  another  sense  it  is  remedial  work,  for  it 
deals  with  the  victim  of  misfortune  and  does  not  prevent  that  /nis- 
fortune  in  the  first  place.  In  the  long  run  it  is  more  desirable  to 
prevent  physical  disability  and  accident,  but  at  any  particular  time 
the  problem  of  the  victim  makes  a  greater  claim  on  us.  As  a  conse- 
quence the  importance  of  vocational  rehabilitation  must  be  empha- 
sized. When  we  provided  a  method  of  compensating  the  victim  of 
industrial  accident,  we  felt  that  a  great  gain  had  been  made.  We 
were  making  provision  for  him  and  for  his  family  so  that  the  door  of 
want  need  not  be  open  and  the  wolf  need  not  appear.  However,  we 
had  not  thoroughly  analyzed  the  situation.  No  individual  is  satisfied 
when  he  is  denied  the  opportunity  to  make  something  of  himself  and 
that  possibility  still  remains.  The  man  who  has  been  disabled  can 
not  be  satisfied  to  live  on  a  set  pension  for  the  remainder  of  nis  life 
when  he  still  has  in  him  capacity  for  useful  service.  It  is  this  new 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  67 

idea  that  permeates  the  principle  of  vocational  rehabilitation  and 
that  must  animate  all  agencies  attempting  to  develop  new  capacities 
and  abilities  in  those  temporarily  victimized  by  diseases  or  other 
misfortune. 

Every  man  ought  to  be  self-supporting  and  also  able  to  support 
a  family,  and  no  man  has  a  social  right  to  refuse  to  contribute  in  some 
way  to  the  wealth  and  to  the  progress  of  society;  that  is,  no  man  has 
a  right  to  belong  to  a  distinctively  leisure  class  that  does  nothing  ex- 
cept enjoy  itself  and  spend  an  income  made  possible  by  the  service  of 
a  previous  generation.  Nor  has  any  man  who  is  crippled  a  right  to 
be  idle  and  enjoy  the  gratuitous  support  of  relatives  or  of  a  philan- 
thropic agency  or  of  the  public.  He  ought  to  serve  the  community 
in  such  ways  as  he  can,  and  if  it  is  not  possible  for  him  to  do  so  with- 
out some  training  or  education  it  is  the  business  of  the  community 
to  provide  such  training  and  education.  Men  who  are  idle  deteriorate 
not  only  physically,  but  morally  and  socially  as  well.  It  is  work — it 
is  doing  things — that  tones  up  the  man  or  woman  and  safeguards  his 
citizenship  and  his  social  life.  Those  made  helpless  through  misfor- 
tune impose  on  society  a  double  burden.  In  the  first  place,  they  are 
withdrawn  from  the  army  of  producers  and  no  longer  contribute  to 
the  material  or  social  wealth.  In  the  second  place,  they  are  an  eco- 
nomic liability  in  that  the  production  of  others  is  necessary  to  main- 
tain them.  We  are  thus  draining  our  resources  from  both  ends  and 
adding  greatly  to  the  liabilities  of  a  community. 

THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  DISABILITY  WHICH  NECESSITATES  REHABILITATION . 

The  number  of  industrial  accidents  is  enormous.  We  have  been 
told  again  and  again  that  every  year  our  industrial  warfare  costs  us 
in  lives  and  injured  more  than  the  killed  and  wounded  in  the  American 
Army  in  a  year  of  the  Great  War.  In  other  words,  every  year  we 
are  fighting  an  industrial  war  similar  to  that  of  the  military  war 
through  which  we  so  recently  passed.  The  number  of  injured  in 
industrial  accidents,  however,  represents  only  part  of  the  total  number 
in  need  of  rehabilitation.  Accidents  to  workers  and  to  young  persons 
on  the  eve  of  industrial  service,  but  occurring  not  in  connection  with 
their  employment,  are  amazingly  common.  There  are  many  more 
accidental  deaths  outside  of  industry  than  occur  from  the  effects  of 
industrial  operations,  and,  of  course,  there  are  thousands  of  nonfatal 
accidents  as  well.  A  third  source  of  disability  comes  from  diseases. 
Many  diseases  leave  men  and  women  crippled  and  helpless  or  variously 
disabled  and  incapacitated  for  their  former  occupations.  These,  too, 
are  in  need  of  the  service  that  will  restore  them  to  capacity  for  useful 
employment.  It  is  very  probable  that  in  the  average  community 
more  cases  of  industrial  handicap  are  due  to  nonoccupational  causes 


68  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

than  to  occupational  causes.  Accordingly,  we  have  before  us  a  prob- 
lem the  magnitude  of  which  is  not  all  revealed  by  the  statistics  of 
industrial  accidents. 

Physical  disability  is  responsible  for  a  series  of  acute  social  condi- 
tions. To  begin  with,  a  large-  proportion  of  homelessness  and  tramp 
life  is  due  to  this  condition.  In  her  excellent  book  on  " Homeless 
Men"  Mrs.  Solenberger  says  that  254  out  of  a  thousand,  or  slightly 
more  than  25  per  cent  of  the  homeless  studied,  had  suffered  from  some 
kind  of  accident  and  this  was  partly  the  cause  of  their  industrial  mal- 
adjustment. Physically  disabled,  incapable  for  the  moment  of  enter- 
ing gainful  employments,  they  lose  their  habit  of  work  and  good 
behavior  and  drift  aimlessly  into  poverty  and  crime. 

It  is  well  known  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  head  wage  earners 
in  families  asking  for  relief  from  social  agencies  are  physically  in- 
capacitated. Sickness  is  indeed  a  large  factor,  but  physical  handicap 
is  a  much  greater  one.  In  our  own  city  60  per  cent  of  the  families 
coming  to  a  leading  social  agency  present  the  problem  of  physical 
disability.  This  may  not  have  been  the  only  problem,  but  it  is  a 
serious  fact  to  observe  that  in  60  per  cent  of  the  cases  such  disability 
was  a  factor. 

Inability  to  do  a  day's  work  means  lack  of  earning  power,  and  this 
in  turn  incites  to  crime  and  other  evils.  How*  large  a  proportion  of 
our  criminals  are  physically  handicapped  has  not  been  ascertained, 
but  the  influence  of  the  handicap  in  causing  crime  is  not  to  be  doubted. 

The  economic  effects  of  physical  handicap  are  not  the  only  conse- 
quences *to  which  we  must  give  consideration.  How  often  have  we 
seen  the  blind  with  sordid  and  pessimistic  attitude  toward  life.  An 
attitude  brought  about  to  a  large  extent  by  their  inability  to  readjust 
themselves.  In  many  cases  the  pleasure  of  living  is  largely  destroyed 
by  the  accident  or  the  development  of  such  handicap,  and  with  it 
life  loses  its  naturally  hopeful  and  rosy  color  and  is  darkened  by 
unending  hopelessness.  One  consequence  of  this  result  is  the  desire 
of  friends,  relatives,  and  others  in  touch  with  those  who  are  handicap- 
ped to  get  rid  of  them,  to  place  them  in  institutions,  or  to  turn  them 
over  to  philanthropic  agencies.  It  is  not  encouraging  to  observe 
the  extent  to  which  the  helpless  and  old  are  being  forsaken  by  their 
children  and  abandoned  to  the  social  agency,  nor  should  we  aggravate 
the  situation  by  permitting  those  who  are  helpless  but  capable  of 
restoration  to  be  abandoned  in  similar  ways.  It  is  remarkable  how 
the  attitude  of  mind  changes  toward  those  who  are  made  capable  to 
some  extent  at  least  of  self-support.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  matter 
how  well  the  community  may  compensate  the  victims  of  industrial 
accident,  life  to  the  victim  is  much  more  hopeful,  much  more  natural, 
if  through  vocational  reeducation  the  individual  has  some  of  his  earn- 
ing power  restored  to  him. 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  69 

Vocational  rehabilitation,  therefore,  has  a  tremendous  social  and 
economic  significance.  It  will  add  materially  to  the  wealth  of  the 
community,  but  it  adds  also  in  good  will,  in  better  living,  and  happy 
home  relations,  and  in  the  pleasantness  of  mutual  contacts. 

The  program  of  vocational  rehabilitation  should  be  carefully  dove- 
tailed into  an  existing  scheme  of  philanthrophy.  It  is  most  unwise 
for  any  public  bureau  or  department  to  slight  the  social  agencies  that 
are  dealing  with  similar  problems,  often  with  the  same  family,  and 
to  act  as  though  these  agencies  were  entirely  nonexisting.  In  the 
first  place,  these  agencies  probably  have  a  better  appreciation  of  the 
problem  which  the  case  presents  than  the  public  bureau.  It  under- 
stands the  disaffected  man  or  woman  better  and  can  often  give  wise 
and  important  advice.  Again,  the  aid  of  the  social  agencies  is  often 
necessary  to  work  out  the  family  problem  during  the  period  of  time 
when  the  education  for  the  new  adjustment  is  being  given.  Public 
bureaus  can  not  afford  to  scorn  private  agencies,  but  must  bend  all 
efforts  in  the  direction  of  that  complete  cooperation  which  makes  not 
only  rehabilitation  a  success,  but  safeguards  the  social  aspects  as  well 
as  the  economic.  Social  agencies  are  sources  of  information.  They 
are  instruments  of  service,  they  are  avenues  for  contacts.  No  plan 
of  vocational  rehabilitation  can  develop  these  forms  of  service  with- 
out greatly  expanding  its  force  of  workers  and  increasing  its  budget. 
Nor  should  it  cover  a  field  that  can  be  and  is  covered  by  philanthropy, 
whether  public  or  private.  It  is  the  business  of  the  bureau  to  use 
such  agencies,  to  cooperate  with  them  and,  together  with  them,  help 
to  promote  those  standards  of  living  for  which  every  agency  is  work- 
ing. The  public  bureau,  likewise,  needs  the  continued  support  of  the 
social  agencies  in  order  that  its  tenure  of  office  may  be  more  certain, 
and  that  its  program  may  not  be  interrupted  by  partisan  feuds  and 
jealousies.  We  have  only  to  witness  the  outcome  of  such  attempts 
in  recent  years  to  see  how  necessary  it  is  for  a  definite  public  opinion 
to  be  developed  in  behalf  of  constructive  social  work.  There  is  no 
stronger  or  better  support  than  that  obtained  from  and  through  those 
social  agencies  with  which  such  a  bureau  may  cooperate. 

A  program  of  vocational  rehabilitation  requires  patience,  and  that  is 
precisely  the  quality  which  the  partisan  in  politics  does  not  possess. 
He  wants  results,  and  then  wishes  to  declare  these  results  to  the  pub- 
lic and  convince  the  public  of  the  nature  of  his  achievement.  Because 
these  results  are  not  always  accomplished,  many  are  the  enterprises 
that  die  before  they  have  had  a  chance  to  demonstrate  their  useful- 
ness. It  is  most  important  that  a  great  principle  such  as  this  be 
ingrained  into  the  thought  of  our  people,  and  that  they  be  made  to 
realize  that  nothing  short  of  complete  vocational  rehabilitation,  as 
far  as  that  is  possible,  must  be  a  goal  of  modern  philanthropy.  All 
those  who  work  for  the  benefit  of  the  industrially  handicapped, 


70  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

whether  connected  with  bureaus  of  rehabilitation  or  not,  must  also 
endeavor  to  teach  the  public  that  it  has  no  right  to  demand  less  than 
this,  and  that  it  must  insist  from  now  on  that  results  be  obtained. 
We  come  back  to  our  starting  point.  Jobs  or  positions  for  all,  and 
everyone  made  capable  of  holding  some  job  or  position;  then  only 
shall  we  have  gained  those  ecomomic  and  social  results  which  are 
implied  in  the  phrase  " normal  living,"  and  which  are  necessary  to 
insure  social  progress  to  that  plane  of  better  living  to  which  we  all 
should  aspire. 

Chairman  WRIGHT.  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  announce  that  we 
have  with  us  today  a  gentlemen  from  the  field  of  industrial  relations 
who  will  speak  of  the  "  Responsibility  of  industrial  management  in 
vocational  rehabilitation."  Mr.  Worth  of  the  International  Har- 
vester Co.  will  now  speak  to  us. 

RESPONSIBILITY    OF   INDUSTRIAL    MANAGEMENT    IN    VOCA- 
TIONAL REHABILITATION. 

W.    E.   WORTH,   Assistant  Manager,    Industrial   Relations 
Department,  International  Harvester  Co.,  Chicago,  111. 

The  thing  that  stands  out  most  in  my  mind  on  this  subject,  respon- 
sibility of  industrial  management  in  vocational  rehabilitation,  is 
where  does  responsibility  start  and  end.  I  have  been  able  to  answer 
that  it  starts  within  industry  and  that  we  are  really  responsible  for 
the  rehabilitation,  mental  and  physical,  of  the  people  who  are  injured 
in  industry.  Where  it  ends,  as  the  previous  speakers  have  said, 
there  are  more  people  injured  outside  of  industry  than  in  industry — 
I  have  not  found  the  answer. 

I  believe  you  feel  that  industry  must  be  called  upon  to  take  a 
great  many  people  into  industry,  and  give  them  employment  and 
vocational  rehabilitation.  In  addition  to  the  fact  that  more  people 
are  injured  outside  of  industry  than  in  industry,  by  a  ratio  of  proba- 
bly two  to  one,  particularly  on  the  farm,  we  must  realize  from  this 
that  after  all  industry  is  generally  recognized  by  the  public  only  by 
the  names  of  great  corporations,  such  as  the  one  I  represent,  and 
that  the  public  does  not  realize  that  the  great  majority  of  the  people 
employed  in  industry  are  not  employed  in  large  companies  like  the 
large  steel  corporations,  but  in  thousands  and  thousands  of  smaller 
industries.  The  question  of  responsibility  is  a  great  one,  and  I 
wondered,  as  I  listened  here  to  what  was  said,  whether  we  have 
overlooked  the  fact  that  there  is  some  responsibility  resting  on  the 
smaller  industries  for  the  taking  care  of  these  people  who  are  injured. 
That  brings  to  me  this  thought :  what  about  the  man  who  is  a  trusted 
worker  in  the  employ  of  the  small  contractor  who  can  not  give  steady 
employment,  with  whom  men  do  not  build  up  records  of  service  but 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  71 

come  and  go — the  building  trades  generally,  for  instance.  The  con- 
tractor furnishes  one  job  and  goes  on  to  another.  Is  that  part  of 
industry  which  gives  continuity  of  employment  expected  to  take 
men  injured  by  smaller  industries,  or  on  the  farm,  and  train  them? 
Where  does  this  responsibility  start  and  where  does  it  cease  ? 

As  far  as  larger  employers  are  concerned,  my  observation  is  that 
they  do  maka  an  effort  to  take  care  of  the  people  who  are  injured  in 
their  industry.  With  pride  I  say  that  that  is  the  case  in  the  Inter- 
national Harvester  Co.  We  make  it  our  business  to  prevent  acci- 
dents, so  that  we  shall  have  fewer  and  fewer  to  rehabilitate.  It  is 
not  the  belief  of  the  company  that  because  they  have  compensated  a 
man  for  an  injury  that  their  work  is  finished.  The  question  before 
us  is  to  put  the  man  into  such  physical  condition  that  he  can  resume, 
if  not  his  original  occupation,  some  other,  and  that  his  earning  status 
is  not  unduly  if  at  all  impaired.  This  can  be  said  of  a  great  many  of 
the  other  large  corporations.  There  is  no  question  in  my  mind  that 
the  larger  industries,  those  to  whom  you  are  looking  for  help,  will 
take  care  of  those  who  are  injured  in  their  employ.  The  matter  of 
great  concern  for  youas,  what  about  the  people  who  are  injured  in 
the  employ  of  the  smaller  plants  which  do  not  or  can  not  take  care 
of  them  as  the  larger  employers  can.  Are  we  going  to  be  called  upon 
to  take  the  people  who  are  injured  on  the  streets — who  are  in  the 
large  majority — and  the  men  from  the  smaller  institutions,  and  the 
men  from  agriculture  and  care  for  them  all.  I  do  not  think  we  can 
do  it,  because  after  all  we  must  select  our  employees  for  physical 
fitness,  so  that  as  they  enter  into  the  employment  we  shall  not  increase 
our  exposure,  thereby  bringing  about  accidents  and  adding  to  those 
in  need  of  vocational  rehabilitation.  Therefore,  we  must  have 
physical  examinations,  not  for  the  purpose  of  picking  out  only  the 
physically  perfect,  but  for  the  purpose  of  knowing  their  defects  and 
assigning  them  to  work  which  is  not  hazardous  to  their  physical 
condition.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  take  into  our  employ  people  who 
are  not  physically  perfect.  We  all  know  the  result  of  examinations 
in  the  war.  W"e  would  have  a  fine  time  manning  our  plant.  Place 
them  in  occupations  that  will  not  cause  undue  strain  or  expose  them 
to  hazards  of  accidents.  I  have  jotted  down  five  principles  here, 
general,  as  being  the  basis  of  fairly  good  management  and  which  have 
a  bearing  upon  this  work: 

(1)  Prevention  of  disease  and  accident.  If  the  employer  does  not 
attempt  to  prevent  disease  and  prevent  accidents,  then  this  group  in 
this  room  won't  be  large  enough  to  see  that  the  necessary  work  and 
functions  of  one  State  is  carried  out  in  proper  manner.  We  must  do 
something  to  prevent  this  disease  and  these  accidents  or  we  are  going 
to  have  need  of  much  larger  appropriations  than  Doctor  Mangold 
thinks  the  average. 


72  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

(2)  Constant  health  supervision.     We  must  not  only  rehabilitate 
those  who  are  injured  as  the  result  of  accidents,  but  we  must  see  that 
the  health  of  those  who  did  not  meet  with  accidents  is  conserved. 

(3)  Adequate  medical  and  surgical  care  for  all  disabled.     If  those 
who  are  disabled  are  given  promptly  good,  efficient  medical  care,  a 
good  many  of  these  cases  maybe  avoided.     My  experience  leads  me  to 
believe  that  if  the  average  surgeon  was  hired  for  his  ability  instead  of 
for  the  smallest  possible  salary,  there  would  not  be  so  many  cases 
necessitating  rehabilitation. 

(4)  Proper  selection  of  work  according  to   the  physical    qualifi- 
cations of  each  individual,  including  properly  chosen  work  for  the 
handicapped  after  recovery — first,  determining  that  a  proper  recovery 
has  been  effected,  and,  secondly,  selecting  proper  work  for  the  indi- 
vidual. 

(5)  Practical  vocational  training  in  the  plant  for  new  occupations. 
Sometimes  we  can  overdo  this  question  of  vocational  training  because 
we  get  impractical  in  our  desire  to  set  up  a  scientific  method  of  training 
and  work.     In  our  company  when  a  man  is  injured  we  do  all  possible 
to  speed  his  recovery;  we  see  that  he  is  given  proper  medical  atten- 
tion, and  then  get  him  back  to  work  as  quickly  as  consistent,  no  man 
being  returned  unless  we  have  the  authority  of  the  surgeon.     The 
reason  for  returning  him  as  soon  as  consistent  is  that  you  help  him 
retain  his  morale.     The  person  who  sits  around  conferring  about  the 
results  of  his  injury  gets  to  a  very  low  ebb  in  morale. 

This  question  of  practical  vocational  training  should  be  a  simple 
matter.  The  person  to  be  trained  should  be  given  production  work, 
not  a  watchman's  job,  not  a  mere  sitting  at  the  gate  which,  in  most 
instances,  injures  the  pride  of  the  average  worker.  He  must  not  be 
allowed  to  feel  that  he  is  getting  such  a  job  or  training  simply  because 
some  one  feels  sorry.  It  is  an  unfortunate  condition  when  one  gets 
to  that  point  and  we  should  feel  a  moral  responsibility  when  it  is  so 
easy  to  put  them  at  something  where  they  can  earn  their  daily  bread 
and  uphold  their  personal  pride. 

One  or  two  experiences  of  men  returning  to  work.  In  one  case  a 
man  received  a  pretty  severe  back  injury,  and  was  not  able  to  return 
to  his  regular  employment.  The  question  was  what  should  we  do 
for  him?  Should  we  make  a  watchman  out  of  him  or  an  elevator 
operator  ?  But  the  man  himself  had  other  ideas.  The  man  said  he 
always  wanted  to  be  a  pattern  maker  and  after  the  doctor,  superin- 
tendent, and  one  or  two  others  had  considered  the  matter,  it  was 
decided  to  give  him  a  trial.  It  was  necessary  to  build  that  man  a 
chair,  or  bench,  because  of  the  condition  of  his  back.  After  a  year 
he  not  only  developed  into  a  good  pattern  maker,  but  he  is  now  con- 
sidered one  of  the  best  pattern  makers  in  the  plant. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  73 

We  have  had  other  instances  of  that  kind  showing  the  possibilities 
of  practical  vocational  training.  I  simply  mention  this  case  to  show 
that  if  we  approach  the  management  from  a  practical  view  point, 
and  not  with  too  much  of  the  scientific  theory  of  vocational  training, 
results  will  be  forthcoming.  I  have  never  in  15  years  (the  past  2  years 
with  the  International  Harvester  Co.)  had  a  man  injured  for  whom 
I  could  not  find  a  job,  if  that  man  wanted  to  remain  in  the  employ, 
and  every  man  understood  that  he  could  remain. 

On  the  property  with  which  I  was  connected  before  coming  to  the 
Harvester  Co.  we  had  a  man,  an  elevator  operator,  who  had  his  foot 
badly  smashed  as  the  result  of  his  own  carelessness.  For  a  year  we 
had  masseurs  work  on  him  and  could  not  get  proper  ankle  motion. 
We  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  become  a  checker  in  the  freight  house. 
You  must  be  patient  with  these  men.  It  took  two  years  to  properly 
train  him,  during  which  time  he  received  regular  wages  and  did  the 
regular  w^ork,  although  the  average  fellow  ought  to  be  able  to  learn 
it  in  six  months.  After  that  time  he  was  able  to  go  into  his  new  occu- 
pation and  with  the  increase  in  wages,  as  a  result  of  the  war  increases, 
he  was  soon  earning  two  and  one  half  times  as  much  as  he  earned  at 
the  time  of  his  injury. 

We  had  a  motorman  whose  leg  was  run  over  and  had  to  be  ampu- 
tated. We  made  a  dispatcher  out  of  him. 

It  takes  patience  on  the  part  of  those  supervising,  but  after  all 
it  is  worth  while.  I  feel  personally,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  the 
officials  of  the  International  Harvester  Co.  feel,  that  a  man  who  is 
injured  in  industry  should  be  given  every  opportunity  to  return  to 
his  old  occupation  and  become  self-supporting,  that  he  may  hold  up 
his  head  and  not  feel  that  he  is  an  object  of  charity. 

This  question  of  where  the  responsibility  starts  and  ceases  is  one 
which  you  might  well  consider,  because  you  will  have  to  go  to  industry 
for  your  placement  in  the  majority  of  cases.  The  board  in  Chicago 
has  come  to  us.  When  business  picks  up  and  we  need  new  men  we 
will  gladly  take  those  whom  we  can  use  and  train  them  in  certain 
classes  of  work.  We  already  have  several  disabled  veterans,  and  we 
have  had  no  regrets  over  taking  them.  Remembering  that  the  ratio 
is  10  injured  outside  of  industry  to  1  injured  in  industry,  we  must 
try  to  distribute  the  burden  and  not  expect  the  larger  corporations 
to  absorb  all  that  are  injured  outside  of  industry.  It  is  necessary, 
as  I  said  before,  for  us  to  select  people  physically  qualified  for  the 
job.  You  must  cooperate  in  every  way  with  the  management,  help- 
ing them  properly  to  place  those  in  need  of  training.  If  we  can  not 
make  proper  selection  and  do  it  in  cooperation  with  you,  then,  of 
course,  we  are  going  to  be  discouraged  in  our  efforts  to  assist  you  in 
this  very  worth-while  work. 


74  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

I  have  not  a  solution  for  this  question.  I  hope  some  day  I  may 
hear  it.  It  may  be  10  years  from  now  before  we  have  solved  this 
question  of  vocational  rehabilitation  and  so  coordinated  rehabilita- 
tion with  efficient  management  that  we  shall  have  the  answer  to  that 
important  question.  If  you  will  give  serious  consideration  to  that 
side  of  the  question,  I  am  sure  that  industrial  management  will 
accept  its  share  of  the  responsibility  in  this  great  movement,  as  we 
have  met  the  situation  in  the  compensation  laws,  which  as  they  have 
worked  out  have  been  of  mutual  advantage  to  employer  and  em- 
ployee. But  if  you  expect  us  to  accept  the  responsibility  that  you 
'  lay  upon  us,  I  just  want  to  leave  the  thought  with  you  that  you  be 
as  practical  as  you  can  and  seek  the  viewpoint  of  the  practical 
manager.  Then  I  am  sure  you  will  get  his  support  on  this  important 
question  of  vocational  education. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

Chairman  WRIGHT.  What  difference  does  the  speaker  make  be- 
tween practical  and  vocational  training  ? 

Mr.  WORTH.  I  was  not  trying  to  differentiate.  Vocational  train- 
ing means  to  train  people  for  vocations  for  which  they  are  best 
fitted.  When  I  dwell  upon  the  practical  side  I  simply  mean  that 
there  are  two  ways  of  approaching  the  problem.  When  you  are 
training  a  man  for  a  certain  job — pattern  maker — he  goes  through  a 
process  of  vocational  education.  We  give  it  to  him  in  a  practical 
rather  than  a  scientific  way.  The  average  shopman  is  generally 
a  practical  fellow.  He  started  out,  possibly,  as  an  office  boy,  and 
he  has  come  up  through  the  lines  and  he  has  a  practical  viewpoint. 
His  ideas  on  how  to  best  train  this  man  are  practical.  Still,  when 
I  say  approaching  them  from  a  practical  viewpoint  I  mean  that 
we  may  have  formulated  some  rules  on  how  best  to  train  people 
for  certain  kinds  of  work,  but  if  the  practical  shopman  can  accom- 
plish the  same  result  in  his  practical  way,  the  point  I  tried  to  make 
is,  would  it  not  be  the  better  to  concede  to  him  ? 

Mr.  WHITE.  Is  it  not  theoretical  versus  practical  rather  than 
vocational  versus  practical  ? 

Mr.  WORTH.  It  is  simply  the  difference  between  theoretical  and 
practical  methods. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  In  the  training  of  this  man  in  pattern  making, 
would  you  be  willing  to  lay  out  the  program,  stating  what  progress  he 
should  make  in  6  or  12  weeks,  so  that  the  supervisor  might  be  able 
to  follow  up  his  work,  if  he  supplements  it  by  evening  school  training  ? 

Mr.  WORTH.  Are  you  speaking  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  voca- 
tional training  that  the  men  will  get  outside  or  the  kind  in  the  shop  ? 

Mr.  DALLAS.  The  opportunity  of  practical  training  in  industry.  I 
want  to  know  whether,  if  I  went  to  your  establishment  and  made 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  75 

arrangements,  you  could  lay  out  a  program  so  that  I  might  follow  a 
man  through  the  progress  of  his  course. 

Mr.  WORTH.  Very  easily.  In  one  of  our  plants  we  had  15  dis- 
abled soldiers  taking  engineering,  all  of  whom  got  employment  else- 
where. We  selected  the  employment,  the  manager  kept  track  of  the 
men  to  watch  their  progress. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  Would  you  cooperate  to  the  extent  of  providing  a 
program  of  evening  school  instruction  in  connection  with  his  shop 
training?  In  the  case  of  this  man  taking  pattern  making,  would 
you  be  willing  to  plan  a  program  in  the  evening  vocational  school 
located  in  the  city  ? 

Mr.  WORTH.  We  would  go  the  limit,  regardless  of  what  it  might  be. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  The  chair  was  in  doubt  as  to  what  you  meant  by 
practical.  I  am  now  satisfied  and  what  you  have  said  is  what  my 
idea  is  of  a  vocational  education  program,  so  we  agree  with  you 
quite  naturally  and  quite  fully.  I  am  very  happy  at  the  point  that 
you  brought  out.  It  happens  to  have  been  a  pet  hobby  of  mine.  I 
believe  that  there  are  about  three  stages  in  this  thing,  (1)  find  your 
man;  (2)  get  him  placed;  (3)  give  him  some  training.  If  you  stop 
at  the  second  you  have  only  half  completed  your  job.  The  question 
of  the  third  is  no  different  from  that  of  taking  any  normal  man  and 
giving  him  vocational  training.  If  you  have  a  normal  man  perhaps 
the  thing  is  not  so  expedient,  the  emergency  is  not  so  great,  and  you 
can  take  a  little  more  time,  but  certainly  when  you  are  dealing  with 
adults,  with  men  and  women  who  are  dependent  upon  the  job  for 
their  daily  bread,  you  must  be  practical. 

Mr.  GUILD.  You  mentioned  that  when  you  took  men  into  your 
plant  you  gave  them  certain  medical  examinations  to  determine 
whether  or  not  the  persons  were  physically  able.  I  want  to  know 
if  you  do  the  same  from  the  point  of  view  of  mentality. 

Mr.  WORTH.  Do  you  mean  psychological  or  trade  tests?  No, 
only  in  so  far  as  by  the  questions  that  a  man  gets  when  he  asks  for 
employment.  When  we  employ  a  man  we  expect  him  to  stay  in 
our  employ.  We  start  out  on  that  theory.  By  the  time  we  have 
explained  our  various  incidents  of  employment  and  the  time  that 
he  has  answered  the  questions  and  has  talked  to  the  foreman  and 
talked  to  the  doctor,  we  can  pretty  well  determine  whether  or  not 
he  is  the  kind  of  person  we  want.  We  have  a  good  idea  of  his 
mentality. 

Question.  The  point  is  you  would  not  take  a  man  who  does  not 
understand  arithmetic  and  make  a  pattern  maker  out  of  him. 

Mr.  WORTH.  No,  but  you  can  always  determine.  We  do  not 
employ  the  ordinary  psychological  test.  Because  a  man  could 
not  say  the  tables  of  six  we  would  not  reject  him  as  a  drill  press 
operator. 


76  VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION. 

Mr.  LAND.  What  percentage  of  the  people  taken  into  your  industry 
have  to  be  retrained  for  the  job  ? 

Mr.  WORTH.  It  is  pretty  hard  to  answer  that  question,  because 
we  use  so  many  types.  We  prefer  to  employ  the  experienced  men, 
but  the  boy  or  the  foreigner  who  is  coming  up  to  the  ranks  of  the 
skilled  worker  takes  his  retraining  rather  automatically.  If  we  hire 
a  man  as  a  laborer,  we  may  make  a  drill  press  operator  out  of  him, 
so  that  his  process  of  training  is  not  continuous.  There  is  no  par- 
ticularly definite  training  period. 

Chairman  WRIGHT. — The  message  from  organized  labor  will  be 
given  by  Mr.  David  Kreyling. 

THE  WORKER'S  INTEREST  IN  REHABILITATION. 

Mr.  DAVID  KREYLING,  Secretary-Treasurer,  Central  Trades 
and  Labor  Union,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

I  must  say  that  I  am  here  this  afternoon  not  knowing  fully  what 
was  expected  from  the  representative  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  until  just  a  few  minutes  ago.  Mr.  Wilson  was  the  speaker  who 
was  selected  by  Mr.  Gompers  originally  and  it  was  found  that  Mr. 
Wilson  was  unable  to  reach  here  and  I  was  delegated  at  the  last  hour, 
not  having  any  opportunity  to  look  up  particular  data  on  the  question 
before  us.  I  want  to  be  excused  by  simply  submitting  to  you  the 
action  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  at  their  convention  held 
in  Denver  last  year.  This  will  give  you  an  idea  as  to  the  interest  that 
organized  labor  has  taken  in  vocational  training  work.  The  local 
labor  union  men  have  interested  themselves  in  this  movement  ever 
since  its  inception,  and  at  the  first  meeting  there  was  a  committee  of 
the  Central  Trades  and  Labor  Union  present  acting  in  conjunction  with 
that  Board  and  they  have  been  in  closest  touch  with  them  ever  since, 
doing  everything  that  they  can  to  aid  the  Board  in  its  efforts. 

The  following  resolution,  which  I  shall  read,  was  passed  at  the  forty- 
first  annual  convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  Denver, 
Colo.,  June  13-25,  1921: 

Whereas  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  has  enacted  a  law  to  provide  for  the 
promotion  of  vocational  rehabilitation  of  persons  disabled  in  industry  and  otherwise 
and  their  return  to  civil  employment,  which  provides  that  the  State  board  for 
vocational  education  in  States  which  accept  the  provisions  of  the  Federal  act  shall 
cooperate  with  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  in  carrying  out  the  pro- 
visions of  said  act,  and  further  provides  an  appropriation  for  these  States  on  the  con- 
dition that  every  dollar  of  Federal  money  used  must  be  matched  by  at  least  another 
dollar  by  the  State;  and 

Whereas  the  industrial  rehabilitation  act  was  approved  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  June  2,  1920;  and 

Whereas  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  has  for  many  years  advocated  the  pro- 
motion of  vocational  rehabilitation  as  well  as  all  progressive  legislation  to  meet  the 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  77 

needs  of  the  large  group  of  men  and  women  who  have  been  disabled  in  industry  and 
otherwise,  and  for  their  preparation  to  enter  wage-earning  pursuits;  and 

Whereas  we  realize  the  necessity  for  this  legislation  when  we  are  informed  statisti- 
cally that  during  our  nineteen  months'  participation  in  the  World  War  48,000  lost 
their  lives,  and  during  the  same  nineteen  months  there  were  126,000  killed  in  industry 
and  public  accidents  in  the  United  States,  and  that  our  average  death  rate  from  acci- 
dents is  75,000  a  year,  and  last  year  statistics  tell  us  that  3,000,000  men  and  women 
were  injured  in  industry;  35,000  were  killed  or  died  as  a  result  of  their  injuries,  and 
200,000  permanently  disabled,  many  of  whom  would  be  feasible  cases  for  rehabili- 
tation; and 

Whereas  the  vocational  rehabilitation  act  provides  large  sums  of  public  money 
to  promote  this  much  needed  type  of  education  and  service;  and 

Whereas  the  program  for  industrial  rehabilitation  provides  the  following  services: 

(1)  Service  of  cooperation,  advisement,  and  guidance.  This  service  must  exist  in 
every  case,  and  upon  its  success  or  failure  all  other  forms  of  service  depend.  Bound 
up  in  this  service  is  not  only  the  creating  of  suitable  opportunities  for  employment 
or  training,  but  even  more  important  is  the  necessity  for  creating  a  receptive  attitude 
on  the  part  of  the  disabled  person.  The  question  of  moral  and  financial  assistance  to 
the  person  by  the  creation  of  an  optimistic  attitude  toward  the  future,  by  removing 
discouragement  through  assisting  in  obtaining  employment  for  dependents,  or  main- 
tenance during  the  period  of  unemployment  or  reduced  earning  power,  and  the  ex- 
ample of  others  who,  similarly  or  more  greatly  disabled,  have  been  successful,  is 
undoubtedly  not  only  necessary  but  fundamental  to  the  successful  rendering  of  a 
disabled  person  fit  to  engage  in  a  remunerative  occupation.  Such  assistance,  which 
may  be  called  advisement,  guidance,  or  personal  service,  continues  throughout  the 
complete  program  of  rehabilitation  for  any  individual. 

(2.)  Service  leading  to  physical  reconstruction,  or  functional  restoration,  enabling 
the  person  to  return  to  his  former  occupation,  or  through  training  (or  without  it)  to 
enter  a  new  occupation  in  dependent  or  in-independent  employment. 

(3)  Service  leading  to  the  supplying  of  a  prosthetic  or  special  mechanical  appliance, 
and  the  instruction  in  its  use,  enabling  the  person  to  return  to  his  former  occupation, 
or  through  training  (or  without  it)  to  enter  a  new  occupation  in  dependent  or  in 
independent  employment. 

(4)  Service  providing  persons  having  certain  disease  tendencies  or  bodily  disfigure- 
ments with  favorable  working  conditions  or  work,  enabling  the  person  to  return  to 
his  former  occupation,  or  through  training  (or  without  it)  to  enter  a  new  occupation 
in  dependent  or  in  independent  employment. 

Whereas  it  is  generally  recognized  that  the  above  services  will  bring  about  the 
purposes  provided  in  the  industrial  rehabilitation  act  for  the  return  to  employment 
of  those  persons  who  have  been  injured  in  industry  and  otherwise;  and 

Whereas  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  recognizing  the  importance  of  this 
work,  recommends  that  advisory  committees  composed  of  representatives  of  employ- 
ers, employees,  and  the  public  are  indispensable  in  any  State  or  community  in  the 
promotion  and  conduct  of  vocational  rehabilitation:  Therefore  be  it  ' 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  urge  both  State  and  Federal 
Boards  for  Vocational  Education  and  upon  local  boards  of  education  the  necessity 
of  maintaining  effective  standards  that  will  be  of  practical  value  in  giving  intensive 
vocational  training  courses — standards  and  courses  which  will  insure  an  equal  oppor- 
tunity for  the  large  number  of  men  and  women  who  have  been  incapacitated  in 
industrial  occupations  or  otherwise;  and  further  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  cooperative  understandings  between  State  boards 
for  vocational  education,  the  committees  on  education  of  the  State  federations,  the 
city  central  labor  bodies,  and  the  several  trades  that  may  be  now,  or  in  the  future, 
will  become,  interested,  to  see  that  these  men  and  women  are  trained  efficiently, 


78  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

so  they  may  take  their  dollar  because  they  have  earned  it  and  not  because  they  were 
disabled  in  industry  or  otherwise;  and  further  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  urge  upon  the  State  federations 
of  labor  the  necessity  for  calling  to  the  attention  of  their  legislatures  the  advantages 
of  the  industrial  rehabilitation  act  and  that  the  State  federations  of  labor  request 
their  legislatures  to  accept  the  Federal  act  for  industrial  rehabilitation,  and  we  com- 
mend the  work  of  industrial  rehabilitation  now  carried  on  by  those  States  that  have 
accepted  the  industrial  rehabilitation  act. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor  represents  4,000,000  wage 
earners,  and  I  believe  that  this  resolution  clearly  outlines  the  interest 
that  they  have  taken  in  the  past,  and  the  interest  that  they  will 
continue  to  take,  and  the  activities  that  they  intend  to  continue 
in  connection  with  the  training  of  persons  who  are  suffering  from 
industrial  accident.  We  hope  and  trust  that  conferences  throughout 
the  country  will  result  in  solving  your  problems  to  the  satisfaction 
of  all.  The  Central  Trades  and  Labor  Union  of  St.  Louis  has  from 
time  to  time  taken  this  proposition  up  and  manifested  quite  an 
interest,  and  the  State  federation  will  no  doubt  take  it  up  again, 
and  other  steps  will  be  taken  for  cooperating  with  this  vocational 
board.  I  listened  attentively,  especially  when  they  spoke  of  the 
accidents  in  industry  here,  only  one  in  industry  to  five  that  happen 
on  the  outside  of  industry.  There  are  reasons.  The  labor  men  not 
only  in  the  State  but  throughout  this  country  have  been  very 
active  for  many  years  in  bringing  about  legislation  for  safety  devices 
in  all  factories.  There  have  been  many  labor-saving  devices  adopted 
through  legislation,  and  some  of  them  on  the  part  of  the  employer, 
which  have  prevented  many  accidents  in  the  last  10  or  15  years. 
The  accidents  in  industry  have  decreased  and  we  are  glad  that  they 
have.  What  we  want  is  to  avoid  accidents.  We  have  succeeded  in 
having  many  States  adopt  safety  devices  in  our  factories.  Outside 
of  that  I  can  not  add  any  more,  only  wish  you  Godspeed.  You  can 
expect  from  us  the  strongest  cooperation. 

Chairman  WEIGHT.  We  have  found  that  various  other  Government 
agencies  are  willing  to  cooperate  in  many  of  our  educational  move- 
ments. Miss  Mary  Anderson,  chief  of  the  Women's  Bureau,  Depart- 
ment of  Labor,  is  here  this  afternoon,  and  will  continue  the  discussion 
of  the  last  topic,  as  given  by  the  previous  speakers. 

Miss  ANDERSON.  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  add  anything  to  the 
discussion  this  afternoon.  It  has  been  very  thorough  both  days  that 
I  have  attended  your  sessions.  I  want  to  say  that  the  women  from 
the  Department  of  Labor,  Washington,  are  interested  in  this  project, 
because  we  perhaps  are  trying  as  much  as  any  governmental  agency 
can  to  prevent  you  having  any  work  at  all.  We  are  trying  to  see 
that  the  standards  and  policies  we  recommend  be  so  carried  out  that 
the  work  will  not  be  very  heavy  so  far  as  the  industrial  situation  is 
concerned.  So  far  as  we  are  able  to  do  that  you  will  be  the  judges. 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  79 

So  far  we  have  not  been  able  to  do  very  much.  For  many,  many 
years  to  come  you  will  have  work  as  far  as  industrial  rehabilitation 
is  concerned.  I  am  particularly  interested  from  the  standpoint  of 
women,  because  we  are  the  Women's  Bureau  in  the  Department  of 
Labor.  In  our  industrial  situation  every  fourth  worker  is  a  woman, 
and  the  prospects  are  that  is  going  to  increase  as  time  goes  on.  Only 
in  mines  are  women  not  employed  in  some  way  or  another,  so  that 
in  the  proportion  that  women  are  working  in  the  industries  shall  we 
have  industrial  accidents  among  the  women.  I  am  very  glad  indeed 
that  when  this  movement  was  started  they  took  into  consideration 
the  workers  rather  than  the  men,  as  we  have  been  heretofore  trying 
to  do.  In  establishing  the  vocational  bureau  we  had  two  women 
on  the  commission,  so  that  from  the  very  inception  of  the  vocational 
education  service  to  the  rehabilitation  service  the  question  of  the 
women  has  been  taken  into  consideration. 

I  am  very  glad  to  be  with  you.  I  am  not  going  to  discuss  any  of 
your  problems.  I  have  not  met  them,  and  from  that  standpoint  I 
can  not  discuss  them,  but  I  know  that  your  division  will  have  a  work 
for  many  years,  and  I  know  that  the  question  of  rehabilitation  and 
the  question  of  industrial  accident  are  very  great,  and  far  too  great 
for  the  safety  of  our  country.  For  that  reason  it  is  good  that  the 
Government,  in  conjunction  with  the  States,  has  undertaken  to  do 
something  in  this  field.  You  are  pioneers.  You  are  the  vanguard. 
We  hope  you  will  go  as  far  as  it  is  necessary  to  go. 


GROUP  MEETING. 

MAY  17 9  A.  M. 


CHAIRMAN.  MARGUERITE  LISON,  Director  Industrial  Reha- 
bilitation, South  Dakota. 

Chairman  LISON.  It  has  been  my  experience,  and  I  believe  it  has 
been  the  experience  of  all  other  rehabilitation  officials,  that  State  de- 
partments can  give  us  a  good  deal  of  assistance  in  our  work.  In 
order  to  do  this  and  maintain  this  cooperation  there  has  to  be  more 
or  less  of  a  formulated  machinery  set  up.  An  example  of  this  in  my 
own  work  has  been  the  work  with  the  blind  school.  Heretofore  indi- 
viduals placed  in  training  were  trained  more  or  less  as  a  group  with- 
out any  attention  paid  to  the  industrial  needs  of  the  time  or  the 
interest  or  capability  of  the  person  placed.  As  much  as  possible  for 
the  children  and  adults  who  are  placed  there,  a  survey  is  made  and 
a  plan  worked  out  for  their  future.  More  attention  is  now  paid  to 
the  industrial  needs  of  the  community.  Do  not  train  men  for  things 
for  which  there  will  be  no  demand.  This  is  just  one  of  the  many 
things  that  can  be  done.  Some  of  the  larger  States  have  formed  a 
rather  formal  program  and  we  shall  hear  from  some  of  them  this 
morning.  The  subject  for  discussion  is  "  Cooperation  by  other  State 
departments  in  the  rehabilitation  work."  The  first  speaker  is  Mr. 
H.  L.  Stanton,  supervisor  industrial  rehabilitation,  North  Carolina. 

COOPERATION  BY  OTHER  STATE  DEPARTMENTS  IN  REHABILI- 
TATION WORK. 

H.    L.    STANTON,    Supervisor    Industrial    Rehabilitation, 
North  Carolina. 

We  have  already  heard  considerable  about  cooperation,  and  I  see 
by  the  program  that  we  are  to  hear  much  more  on  this  subject  before 
the  conference  is  ended.  It  is  one  of  the  big,  vital  needs  in  rehabili- 
tation work  at  the  present  time.  Another  is  publicity.  The  two  go 
hand  in  hand.  Without  publicity  the  needed  cooperation  can  not 
be  obtained. 

From  our  experience  and  the  experience  of  other  States  we  have 
learned  that  vocational  rehabilitation  is  not  a  simple  problem,  involv- 
ing a  single  service,  such  as  vocational  training,  but  it  is  often  a 
complex  problem  requiring  the  rendering  of  a  number  of  varied 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  81 

services.     A  very  recent  case  handled  by  the  department  in  North 
Carolina  illustrates  this  fact. 

A  young  man  who  lost  a  leg  a  few  inches  above  the  ankle  in  a 
railroad  accident  several  years  ago  was  reported  to  the  department 
by  a  cooperating  agency.  After  an  investigation  of  the  case  it  was 
found  necessary  to  send  the  boy  to  the  State  capital,  which  is  some 
distance  from  his  home  town.  The  associated  charities  in  his  own 
city  provided  him  with  transportation,  arrangements  were  made  for 
giving  him  placement  training  for  a  suitable  occupation,  and  he  was 
inducted  into  training.  A  few  days  later  a  telegram  was  received* 
from  a  policeman  in  his  home  town,  requesting  the  department  to 
hold  and  search  him  for  a  watch  belonging  to  a  certain  lady.  Upon 
investigation  it  was  found  that  the  young  man  had  the  watch  in  his 
possession  and  that  it  had  been  intrusted  to  him  by  his  sweetheart 
to  have  it  repaired.  He  had  carried  the  watch  with  him  for  this 
purpose.  We  also  learned  that  the  lady  involved  was  the  sister  of 
the  policeman  and  upon  hearing  it  mentioned  that  the  boy  had  her 
watch  he  immediately  wired  the  department. 

A  few  days  after  adjusting  this  matter  a  representative  of  an 
artificial  limb  company,  with  an  agent  of  the  department,  called 
on  the  young  man  for  the  purpose  of  taking  his  measurement  for  a 
limb.  It  was  then  found  that  the  boy's  stump  was  sloughing  and 
was  not  in  condition  to  have  a  limb  fitted.  Arrangements  were 
completed  for  an  examination  which  revealed  the  fact  that  gangrene 
had  sent  in  and  an  operation  was  urgent.  As  the  department  has  no 
funds  available  for  surgical  or  medical  treatment  it  was  necessary 
to  make  an  appeal  to  a  philanthropic  organization  which  not  only 
arranged  for  the  operation  to  be  performed  by  one  of  the  best  sur- 
geons in  the  State  without  charge,  but  also  agreed  to  pay  the  cost 
of  the  hospital  bill.  The  young  man  entered  the  hospital  last  week 
for  this  operation.  Upon  his  recovery  he  will  be  furnished  with  an 
artificial  limb  and  will  return  to  his  training,  in  which  he  has  already 
made  a  good  start.  We  are  trusting  that  most  of  our  problems  in 
this  case  have  been  solved.  However,  much  time  will  be  required 
to  supervise  his  training  until  its  completion.  I  am  sure  that  those 
who  are  experienced  in  the  rehabilitation  work  will  agree  with  me 
that  this  is  no  unusual  case  with  reference  to  the  number  of  services 
required.  When  we  multiply  the  time  and  effort  necessitated  in 
handling  this  case  by  even  a  few  hundred  we  get  some  idea  of  the 
amount  of  service  required  in  the  work  of  industrial  rehabilitation. 

For  one  man,  or  half  a  dozen  men,  to  attempt  to  render  all  the 

services  demanded  in  the  rehabilitation  of  the  many  cripples  to  be 

found  among  a  population  of  over  two  and  a  half  million,  scattered 

over  territory  of  more  than  50,000  square  miles,  as  is  the  case  in 

14765—22 6 


82  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

North  Carolina,  is  to  attempt  the  impossible.  Without  the  coopera- 
tion of  all  the  agencies  which  are  in  a  position  to  assist  in  this  work, 
it  is  impossible  for  us  to  render  the  service  contemplated  and  made 
possible  by  the  Federal  and  State  acts.  We  could  do  nothing  more 
than  scratch  the  surface. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  cooperation  of  all  the  existing  agencies  in 
the  State,  a  personal  appeal  was  made  to  the  heads  of  the  organiza- 
tions with  a  request  that  they  send  out  with  us  joint  letters  to  all 
of  their  representatives  in  the  State,  explaining  the  work  of  indus- 
trial rehabilitation  and  requesting  their  cooperation.  The  State 
departments  to  whom  this  appeal  was  made  are — 

The  State  board  of  public  welfare. 

The  State  board  of  health. 

Agricultural  State  extension  service. 

Department  of  labor  and  printing. 

State  department  of  public  instruction. 

We  did  not  attempt  to  secure  a  different  service  from  each  of 
these  departments,  but  asked  them  all  to  give  us  the  same  assist- 
ance. North  Carolina  is  one  of  the  few  States  that  has  a  well  organ- 
ized department  of  public  welfare,  and  since  the  county  welfare 
officers  are  dealing  with  the  same  general  class  of  people  as  the  de- 
partment of  industrial  rehabilitation,  we  have  been  able  to  obtain 
more  assistance  from  this  organization  than  from  any  other  State 
department. 

Of  the  100  counties  in  the  State  47  have  whole- time  public  welfare 
officers,  and  all  of  the  others  have  officers  who  devote  some  time  to 
welfare  work.  Among  the  duties  of  these  officers  are  the  care  and 
supervision  of  the  poor,  the  administration  of  the  poor  fund,  the 
finding  of  employment  for  the  unemployed,  and  the  investigation 
of  causes  of  distress.  These  duties  naturally  bring  them  into  close 
touch  with  many  of  the  problems  of  industrial  rehabilitation,  which 
probably  accounts  for  the  fact  that  we  are  able  to  obtain  more 
assistance  from  them  than  from  any  other  group  working  under  the 
direction  of  a  State  department. 

The  State  board  of  health  has  28  full-time  county  health  officers, 
and  a  part- tune  officer  in  each  of  the  other  100  counties.  These 
officers  do  much  to  relieve  the  physical  suffering  of  indigent  persons 
in  each  county,  and  naturally  come  in  touch  with  many  of  the  crippled 
and  handicapped.  We  are  receiving  excellent  cooperation  from  a 
number  of  these  officers.  Under  the  division  of  public  health  nursing, 
the  board  of  health  has  25  county  nurses  and  7  community  nurses 
located  in  towns.  As  the  work  of  these  nurses  brings  them  into 
contact  with  a  large  number  of  incapacitated  persons  they  are  glad 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  assistance  offered  by  the  department  of 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  83 

industrial  rehabilitation.     Some  of  our  most  valuable  assistance  is 
secured  from  these  nurses. 

The  agricultural  State  extension  service  has  70  white  and  15  negro 
farm  agents,  and  50  home  demonstration  agents.  This  department 
offers  a  large  number  of  persons  whose  cooperation  might  be  obtained, 
but  to  date  only  a  very  limited  amount  of  assistance  has  been  received. 

The  department  of  labor  and  printing  maintains  six  employment 
offices  in  the  State.  Some  valuable  aid  has  been  obtained  from  those 
in  charge  of  these  offices. 

Through  the  State  department  of  public  instruction  we  have 
endeavored  to  interest  the  100  county  superintendents  of  education. 
Some  of  these  are  doing  much  to  promote  the  work  in  their  counties. 

The  assistance  which  we  sought  through  these  agencies  was  the 
giving  of  publicity  to  the  work,  the  reporting  of  cases  to  the  State 
department,  the  making  of  investigation  of  cases  upon  the  request 
of  the  department,  arranging  for  applicants  to  meet  State  agents 
when  visiting  the  county,  advising  with  the  agent  on  plans  of  reha- 
bilitation, assisting  in  the  securing  of  financial  assistance  in  providing 
surgical  treatment  and  prosthetic  appliances,  and  assisting  State 
agents  in  securing  suitable  placement  training  opportunities  and 
employment. 

Our  joint  letters  brought  only  a  mediocre  response  from  the  repre- 
sentatives of  these  departments,  but  they  did  valuable  service  in 
paving  the  way  for  personal  solicitation,  which  in  turn  enabled  us 
to  interest  many  of  the  best  workers  in  industrial  rehabilitation.  In 
appealing  to  both  State  and  private  agencies  for  their  cooperation 
we  stressed  the  fact  that  we  were  offering  them  an  opportunity  to 
render  valuable  and  much  appreciated  service  to  needy  individuals 
and  through  them  to  the  communities  in  which  they  lived.  We  have 
found  that  the  concrete  results  obtained  in  this  work  with  the  favor- 
able impressions  which  they  make  on  the  community  produce  a  very 
strong  appeal  to  all  social  workers.  A  short  time  ago  a  county  wel- 
fare officer,  who  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  State,  informed  me  that  he 
had  found  it  difficult  to  make  many  people  see  the  need  and  value 
of  his  services,  but  since  his  participation  in  vocational  rehabilitation 
the  public  has  shown  a  much  greater  interest  in  and  appreciation  of 
his  work. 

As  we  traveled  throughout  the  State  dealing  with  the  cases  re- 
ported to  us,  we  endeavored  to  form  personal  contact  with  each  of 
the  representatives  of  the  State  departments  mentioned,  as  well  as 
with  all  other  social  workers,  in  order  that  we  might  interest  them 
further  in  vocational  rehabilitation  and  select  the  most  capable  rep- 
resentatives in  each  county  or  community  whose  whole-hearted 
cooperation  could  be  secured.  In  some  counties  it  was  a  public  wel- 
fare officer;  in  some  it  was  a  public  health  officer;  in  others,  a  county 


84  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

nurse;  an  employment  officer;  a  county  superintendent  of  schools;  a 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary;  a  Red  Cross  secretary;  and  in  others  the  sec- 
retary of  the  associated  charities.  In  practically  every  one  of  the 
100  counties  we  have  found  at  least  one  active  social  worker  who 
welcomed  the  opportunity  of  aiding  the  handicapped  residents  of  the 
county  in  conjunction  with  the  State  department  of  rehabilitation. 

The  cooperation  of  these  individuals  has  been  a  big  factor  in  our 
success.  They  are  familiar  with  the  employment  conditions  in  the 
community  and  are  well  acquainted  with  the  employers.  With  this 
knowledge  they  are  able  to  advise  us  as  to  the  best  places  to  seek 
employment  or  placement  training  opportunities  for  the  disabled. 
Our  experience  has  been  that  the  employer's  attitude  is  much  more 
favorable  when  approached  by  a  State  agent  in  company  with  a  local 
social  worker. 

We  have  found  that  these  workers  have  been  willing  to  give  very 
liberally  of  their  time  for  rehabilitation  work.  They  have  reported 
many  new  cases,  always  investigated  cases  promptly  upon  request, 
and  greatly  aided  the  State  representatives  in  getting  in  touch  with 
the  disabled  parties  by  arranging  interviews  or,  when  necessary,  by 
driving  the  representative  to  the  home  of  the  disabled,  some  times 
many  miles.  They  have  been  of  much  assistance  in  advising  on 
cases,  and  in  helping  to  make  arrangements  for  placement  training. 
We  have  much  of  the  latter  to  do  owing  to  the  fact  that  we  have  very 
few  institutions  in  the  State  that  are  offering  real  vocational  courses. 
By  this  plan  of  cooperation  with  local  social  workers  we  were  able  to 
develop,  through  experience,  at  least  one  rehabilitation  agent  in 
each  county. 

Owing  to  the  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  cases,  and  the  large 
amount  of  service  required  in  many  of  them  it  soon  became  apparent 
that  a  different  plan  of  cooperation  was  necessary.  We  were  willing 
to  try  any  plan  that  appeared  to  offer  a  solution  of  our  problem. 
Our  attitude  was  much  the  same  as  one  of  our  county  welfare  officers 
when  he  expressed  himself  as  willing  to  ride  the  devil  if  he  were  going 
his  way  with  a  bridle  and  saddle  on.  Just  at  this  time  a  copy  of  the 
report  of  Mr.  Shaw's  discussion  of  "  Cooperation  of  social  agencies  in 
Ohio"  before  the  National  Society  for  Vocational  Education  at 
Kansas  City  came  to  our  attention.  The  plan  of  organizing  an 
advisory  committee  in  each  county  appealed  to  us  as  a  probable 
solution  of  our  problem.  We  adopted  the  plan  as  outlined  by  Mr. 
Shaw  and  have  been  giving  considerable  time  for  the  past  few  months 
to  the  organizing  of  local  rehabilitation  bureaus.  I  am  glad  to  say 
that  these  bureaus  have  more  than  filled  our  expectations. 

The  social  worker  in  each  county,  already  experienced  in  rehabil- 
itation work,  has  served  as  an  excellent  nucleus  for  the  formation  of 
such  a  bureau.  We  have  experienced  no  difficulty  in  getting  the 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  85 

very  best  people  in  each  community  interested  in  the  work  and  will- 
ing to  serve  on  a  committee.  About  two  weeks  before  coming  to  St. 
Louis  I  visited  a  community  in  which  the  county  nurse  has  been  our 
active  local  representative.  In  company  with  her  I  interviewed  a 
number  of  leading  citizens  with  reference  to  serving  on  an  advisory 
committee.  Everyone  called  upon  agreed  to  serve.  On  Tuesday  of 
last  week  I  returned  to  the  county  to  be  met  by  the  nurse  and  driven 
12  miles  to  the  county  seat  where  I  found  arrangements  had  been 
completed  for  a  meeting  of  the  committee,  with  not  only  every  mem- 
ber present,  but  more  than  a  dozen  cripples  assembled  outside  of  the 
courthouse  awaiting  the  consideration  of  their  cases  by  the  com- 
mittee. In  this  county  we  have  one  of  the  most  successful  merchants 
as  chairman.  Associated  with  him  is  an  excellent  physician;  a  prom- 
inent and  influential  woman,  who  is  very  much  interested  in  social 
work;  the  county  nurse;  and  other  welfare  workers. 

After  explaining  to  the  committee  in  detail  the  various  ways  in 
which  we  can  assist  the  disabled,  we  called  in  the  cripples  one  at  a 
time  and  worked  out  a  plan  of  rehabilitation  for  each.  Three  hours 
were  required  for  explaining  the  work  to  the  committee  and  for  deal- 
ing with  the  applicants,  and  although  several  members  of  the  com- 
mittee are  very  busy  professional  and  business  men,  everyone  re- 
mained until  the  work  was  completed.  We  have  experienced  no 
difficulty  in  interesting  this  class  of  people  in  doing  rehabilitation 
work. 

I  want  to  give  you  some  of  the  results  we  have  been  able  to 
obtain  through  these  local  bureaus,  or  advisory  committees.  A 
very  interesting  case  is  that  of  a  negro  who  lost  his  left  arm  at  the 
shoulder  in  a  railroad  accident.  Upon  recovery  he  secured  em- 
ployment as  an  operator  of  a  freight  elevator.  One  day  a  fire 
broke  out,  a  heavy  trapdoor  went  shut,  and  he  was  obliged  to  make 
his  exit  by  climbing  up  a  burning  stairway.  The  man's  ears  were 
burned  entirely  off,  and  the  fingers  on  his  only  hand  were  so  badly 
burned  that  its  was  necessary  to  amputate  all  fingers  and  thumb 
at  the  palm.  A  Red  Cross  secretary,  who  is  one  of  the  members 
of  the  committee  in  this  county,  was  interested  in  the  case  and 
had  raised  $30  to  pay  toward  the  purchase  of  an  artificial  appliance 
to  attach  to  the  palm  of  his  hand.  The  case  was  reported  to  the 
department  and  an  appeal  made  to  assist  this  man  in  getting  an 
artificial  appliance.  The  committee  was  advised  that  if  any  work 
could  be  secured  for  the  man  the  state  department  would  assist  in 
purchasing  such  an  appliance  for  him.  Just  last  week  I  received  a 
letter  stating  the  committee  had  secured  employment  for  the  man 
at  a  dollar  a  day  and  requested  the  department  to  assist  in  securing 
an  artificial  appliance.  An  artificial-limb  company  advised  that  it 
would  be  necessary  for  the  man  to  visit  the  factory  in  order  to 


86  VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION. 

satisfactorily  fit  him  with  an  appliance.  An  agreement  has  been 
reached  whereby  the  Red  Cross  funds  will  be  used  to  pay  the  ex- 
pense of  his  trip  to  the  factory  and  the  department  of  rehabilita- 
tion will  bear  the  cost  of  the  appliance. 

Through  these  local  bureaus  we  have  obtained  some  excellent 
publicity  by  means  of  local  newspaper  stories  as  well  as  advertise- 
ments furnished  by  the  bureaus.  Many  civic  and  social  organiza- 
tions have  had  the  rehabilitation  work  presented  to  them  by  the 
members  of  these  committees.  Valuable  assistance  has  been  ren- 
dered the  department  by  some  of  the  bureaus  in  obtaining  suitable 
placement  training  opportunities.  A  superintendent  of  public 
welfare,  who  is' a  member  of  one  of  these  committees,  spent  an  entire 
day  with  an  agent  of  the  State  department  in  visiting  all  of  the 
printing  offices  in  the  largest  city  of  our  State,  with  a  view  of  obtain- 
ing an  opportunity  for  training  a  crippled  young  man  in  linotype 
operation.  Near  the  close  of  the  day  an  opportunity  was  found, 
and  as  a  result  the  young  man  is  today  operating  a  linotype  machine 
for  one  of  the  largest  printing  establishments  in  the  State. 

A  number  of  these  committees  have  been  organized  and  are  func- 
tioning very  successfully.  Within  the  next  few  months  we  plan  to 
have  at  least  one  committee  in  each  of  the  100  counties  of  the 
State.  When  this  has  been  accomplished  we  know  that  the  efforts 
of  the  members  of  the  rehabilitation  staff  will  be  multiplied  many 
times  and  that  the  permanency  and  success  of  industrial  rehabil- 
itation in  North  Carolina  will  be  assured. 

Chairman  LISON.  We  will  now  hear  from  Mr.  Ernest  L.  Schneider 
on  the  same  topic. 

ERNEST  L.   SCHNEIDER,   State  Supervisor  of  Industrial 
Rehabilitation,  Missouri. 

Just  one  year  ago  the  task  of  organizing  the  rehabilitation  division 
of  the  State  department  of  education  of  Missouri  was  assigned  to  me. 
To-day,  as  I  look  back  over  the  first  year's  work,  with  a  broader 
vision  and  better  understanding  of  the  philosophy  of  vocational 
rehabilitation  for  the  physically  handicapped,  I  note  where  I  did  not 
in  every  instance  measure  up  to  the  full  responsibility  and  authority 
which  was  in  me  vested  as  State  supervisor,  but  by  and  with  the 
helpful  advice  and  friendly  counsel  of  those  who  were  engaged  in 
promoting  the  work  and  administering  the  program,  I  feel  that  our 
organization  is  becoming  solidly  founded.  At  the  outset  it  was  not 
considered  advisable  to  begin  the  work  with  an  elaborate  State  machine, 
and  the  following  references  to  cooperation  by  other  State  depart- 
ments in  rehabilitation  work  do  not  exhaust  possible  interdepart- 
mental relationships  in  this  State. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  87 

STATE    INDUSTRIAL    INSPECTION    DEPARTMENT. 

Under  the  plan  of  cooperation  between  the  State  board  for  voca- 
tional education  and  the  State  industrial  inspection  department, 
the  latter  is  (1)  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the  employers  of  the 
State  through  its  agents,  the  scope  of  the  rehabilitation  program: 

(2)  to  assist  through  its  employment  offices  in  the  placement  and 
follow-up  work  of  men  in  industry  and  commercial  occupations;   (3) 
to  furnish  the  name,  address,  and  nature  of  injury  of  all  seriously 
impaired   persons  who   come   to   their  notice   and   attention.     The 
State  board  for  vocational  education  agrees  to  furnish  the  State 
industrial  inspection  department   (1)  information  in  regard  to  the 
disposal  of  each  case  reported  by  them;  (2)  facts  in  regard  to  the 
placement  and  follow-up  work  of  all  persons  who  have  been  retrained; 

(3)  statistical  records  in  regard  to  rehabilitation  service  as  may  be 
desired  by  them. 

MISSOURI    COMMISSION    FOR   THE    BLIND. 

We  are  gradually  and  profitably  interlinking  our  activities  in  the 
rehabilitation  of  the  blind  with  the  Missouri  Commission  for  the 
Blind.  I  feel  that  it  is  well  to  digress  here  to  quote  the  law  under 
which  the  commission  functions,  because  of  the  intelligent  manner  in 
which  it  is  drawn.  Section  12361,  Revised  Statutes  of  Missouri, 
1919,  reads: 

The  duties  of  said  commission  shall  be  to  prepare  and  maintain  a  complete  register 
of  the  blind  persons  within  this  State  and  to  collate  information  concerning  their 
physical  condition,  cause  of  blindness  and  such  additional  information  as  may  be 
useful  to  the  commission  in  the  performance  of  its  other  duties  as  herein  enumerated, 
and  to  investigate  and  report  to  the  general  assembly  from  time  to  time  the  condition  of 
the  blind  within  this  State,  with  its  recommendations  concerning  the  best  method  of 
relief  for  the  blind;  to  adopt  such  measures  as  the  commission  may  deem  expedient 
for  the  prevention  and  cure  of  blindness;  to  establish  and  maintain  at  such  places 
within  this  State  as  the  commission  may  deem  expedient  shops  and  workrooms  for  the 
employment  of  blind  persons  capable  of  useful  labor,  and  to  provide  superintendence 
and  other  assistance  therefor  and  instruction  therein;  to  compensate  the  persons  so 
employed  in  the  manner  and  to  the  extent  that  the  commission  shall  deem  proper;  to 
provide  such  means  for  the  sale  of  the  products  of  the  blind  as  the  commission  shall 
deem  expedient;  to  act  as  a  bureau  of  information  for  the  purpose  of  securing  employ- 
ment for  the  blind  of  this  State  elsewhere  than  in  the  shops  and  workrooms  of  the  com- 
mission, and  to  this  end  the  commission  is  authorized  to  procure  and  furnish  materials 
and  tools,  and  to  furnish  aid  and  assistance  to  blind  persons  engaged  in  home  industries, 
and  to  buy  and  sell  the  products  of  the  blind  wherever  and  however  produced  within 
this  State;  to  provide  for  the  temporary  cost  of  the  food,  raiment,  and  shelter  of  de- 
serving blind  persons  engaged  in  useful  labor;  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  blind 
by  such  means  consistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  article  as  the  commission  may 
deem  expedient:  Provided,  however,  that  no  part  of  the  funds  appropriated  by  the 
State  shall  be  used  for  solely  charitable  purposes;  the  object  and  purpose  of  this  article 
being  to  encourage  capable  blind  persons  in  the  pursuit  of  useful  labor  and  to  provide 
for  the  prevention  and  cure  of  blindness. 


88  VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION. 

You  will  see,  therefore,  the  wonderful  opportunity  afforded  by  this 
law  for  reciprocity  between  this  commission  and  our  division.  The 
commission  fosters  and  partially  supports  several  local  associations 
for  the  blind  throughout  the  State  by  distributing  a  portion  of  its 
$75,000  biennium  appropriation,  as  follows:  To  the  St.  Louis  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Blind,  $7,500;  Kansas  City  Association  for  the  Blind, 
$5,000;  Jefferson  City  Association  for  the  Blind,  $3,600;  and  St. 
Charles  Association  for  the  Blind,  $1,200.  These  associations  have 
home  teachers  and  field  workers  for  the  adult  blind,  except  in  the 
city  of  St.  Louis,  where  there  is  conducted,  under  the  above  law,  one 
of  the  greatest  and  biggest  workshops  for  the  blind  in  the  world. 
The  rehabilitation  division  is  utilizing  the  facilities  afforded  by  the 
commission  and  association,  which  help  it  to  function  more  effi- 
ciently in  bringing  to  them  new  forms  of  training  and  new  work 
opportunities  through  research  study  and  experiment. 

COOPERATION    OF    OFFICE    OF    STATE    AUDITOR. 

The  office  of  the  State  auditor  permits  representatives  from  the 
rehabilitation  division  to  review  the  applications  of  persons  who  are 
enrolled  for  the  pension  for  the  deserving  blind,  under  an  act  of  the 
Fifty-first  General  Assembly  of  Missouri,  approved  March  29,  1921, 
which  was  made  possible  in  November,  1920,  when  the  voters,  by  a 
great  majority,  adopted  an  amendment  to  the  State  constitution 
wherein  the  State  legislature  was  authorized  and  empowered  to  make 
such  enactment  as  might  be  necessary  to  pension  the  deserving 
blind.  On  May  12,  1922,  there  was  enrolled  a  total  of  5,280;  4,708 
in  the  State  outside  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  which  had  572.  The 
application  partakes  in  part  the  nature  of  a  questionnaire,  and  a 
glance  reveals  whether  there  is  a  possibility  of  vocational  rehabilita- 
tion for  the  enrolled  person.  It  may  be  interesting  to  know  that 
the  pension  is  $300  per  annum,  payable  in  equal  quarterly  install- 
ments, and  that  it  is  not  paid  if  gross  income  amounts  to  or  is  greater 
than  $780  per  annum. 

COOPERATION  OF  COUNTY  COURTS. 

During  the  latter  part  of  December,  1921,  a  campaign  was  put  on 
to  bring  the  rehabilitation  work  to  the  attention  of  every  county 
court  of  our  114  counties,  and  it  was  particularly  planned  to  show 
them  that  to  cooperate  with  us  meant  profit  to  ceunty  courts  as  well 
as  to  the  individuals.  The  initial  letter,  or  letter  of  introduction  for 
the  subject,  was  made  clear  and  concise,  and  in  part  said: 

Our  recent  legislature  passed  a  law  accepting  the  Federal  grant  and  appropriated 
matched  funds  to  be  used  in  training  handicapped  or  disabled  civilians  so  that  they 
may  become  self-supporting,  tax-paying  citizens.  No  doubt  your  county  court  has 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  89 

one  worthy  handicapped  individual  who  is  of  employable  age  but  who  is  given  some 
county  funds  for  maintenance,  and  if  properly  trained  to  do  a  job  would  become 
self-supporting. 

We  then  endeavored  to  make  clear  to  them  what  we  could  do  and 
how  we  could  spend  the  money  for  the  above  purpose,  and  finally 
asked  them  to  report  the  cases  of  such  persons.  While  the  results 
of  this  campaign  were  varied  and  not  wholly  successful,  some  good 
cooperation  has  developed,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  it  would  have 
been  about  100  per  cent  if  it  could  have  been  followed  up  with  personal 
presentation  of  the  matter;  then,  too,  the  various  county  courts  in 
the  State  convene  in  irregular  order,  depending,  as  you  know,  upon 
the  amount  of  business  to  be  transacted.  However,  every  few  days 
letters  still  come  from  county  clerks  in  reporting  this  man  or  that 
man  as  a  possible  candidate  for  the  benefits  of  the  vocational  rehabili- 
tation act.  Up  to  date  we  have  about  thirty  definite  promises  of 
cooperation  through  this  medium,  with  several  cases  reported. 

COOPERATION  OF  TRADES  AND  INDUSTRIAL  DIVISION  OF  STATE  BOARD. 

It  is  the  policy  of  the  department  of  industrial  rehabilitation  to 
cooperate  with  all  forms  of  public-school  training  within  the  State. 
Missouri  has  one  of  the  largest  public  trade  schools  in  the  country, 
located  at  Kansas  City.  We  are  earnestly  endeavoring  to  place  some 
of  our  people  for  rehabilitation  in  the  schools  of  trade  training  and 
are  confident  of  success. 

STATE    BOARD    OF    CHARITIES    AND    CORRECTIONS. 

Quite  satisfactory  contacts  have  been  established  between  the 
State  board  of  charities  and  corrections  and  the  rehabilitation 
division  in  a  number  of  instances.  Their  records  are  particularly 
helpful  in  learning  the  attitude  of  the  county  courts  in  the  matter 
of  public  outdoor  relief.  Since  they  have  to  deal,  also,  with  crippled 
children,  we  shall  have  to  carefully  work  out  a  program  whereby 
we  shall  have  contact  with  them  when  they  reach  the  age  of  employ- 
ability. 

STATE    BOARD    OF   HEALTH. 

The  State  board  of  health  agrees  to  furnish  the  State  board  of 
vocational  education  with  the  following  facts  in  regard  to  injured 
persons  who  come  under  the  care  or  observation  of  said  board  or 
its  agents:  (1)  The  name,  address,  and  nature  of  injury  of  all  seriously 
impaired  persons  who  come  under  their  care  and  observation; 
(2)  information  in  regard  to  the  physician's  rating  of  the  individual's 
ability;  (3)  assistance  in  making  investigations  to  determine  the 
kind  of  occupations  disabled  persons  can  enter.  We  in  turn  are 
to  furnish  them  (1)  information  in  regard  to  the  disposal  of  each  case 


90  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

reported  by  them;  (2)  information  on  such  subjects  as  quality  of 
medical  care  provided  and  suitability  of  prostheses;  (3)  statistical 
records  in  regard  to  rehabilitation  service  as  may  be  desired  by  them. 

STATE    BUREAU   OF    MINES. 

I  want  to*  say  here  that  the  lines  are  laid  to  full  and  hearty  co- 
operation with  the  officials  of  the  State  bureau  of  mines,  who  have 
reported  to  them  all  cases  of  fatal  and  nonfatal  accidents,  but  that 
we  can  not  possibly  take  care  of  our  present  business  with  the  size 
of  the  present  staff.  We  decline  to  pile  up  cases  and  hold  them  in 
the  works.  I  want  to  say  again,  by  way  of  digression,  we  desire 
to  work  the  cases  through  to  a  logical  and  satisfactory  disposition, 
thereby  avoiding  holding  them  as  pending  cases  over  a  long  period 
of  time,  which  is  discouraging  to  all  concerned.  The  bureau  of 
mines  will  turn  over  all  accident  report  records  to  us  for  review. 

BUREAU   OF    LABOR    STATISTICS. 

The  bureau  of  labor  statistics  also  holds  its  records  open  to  us. 
and  they  contain  valuable  information.  For  example,  every  owner, 
operator,  or  lessee  of  any  factory,  foundry,  or  machine  shop,  or  other 
manufacturing  establishment  doing  business  within  this  State  must 
report  annually  on  or  before  the  1st  day  of  March  to  the  commis- 
sioner of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  name  or  title  of  establishment, 
name  of  corporation,  firm  or  individual  owner,  location  of  factory 
and  general  office,  nature  of  industry,  specifying  kind  of  goods  manu- 
factured, etc.  Provision  is  made  for  the  reporting  of  accidents 
incurred  by  persons  while  working  at  their  occupation,  as  to  whether 
they  are  fatal,  or  non-fatal;  also,  nature  of  accident,  number  recovered, 
number  partially  recovered,  cause  of  accident,  etc.  We  have  not 
been  able  to  work  out  a  satisfactory  arrangement  yet  whereby  we 
can  avail  ourselves  to  good  advantage  of  the  several  free  employment 
bureaus  operated  by  this  department  of  our  State. 

I  can  not  close  these  remarks  without  saying  that  we  do  not  have 
a  workmen's  compensation  commission  functioning  in  this  State  for' 
the  reason  that  the  law  has  been  referred  to  the  people;  to  become 
operative  if  favorably  acted  upon  by  the  voters  on  November  7, 
1922. 

Regarding  the  results  of  a  questionnaire,  which  was  sent  to  the 
officials  in  charge  of  industrial  rehabilitation  in  the  remaining  33 
States,  it  was  learned  from  the  24  replies  received  in  answer  to  the 
question  "  What  other  State  departments  are  cooperating  with  you  ?" 
that  there  has  been  effected  satisfactory  arrangements  with — 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  91 

1.  Workmen's  compensation  or  Indus-  •  11.  State  tuberculosis  sanatorium, 
trial  accident  commission.  !  12.  State  industrial  school. 


2.  State  board  of  health. 

3.  Board  of  public  welfare. 

4.  Department  of  labor. 

5.  State- wide  school  system. 

6.  State  school  for  the  blind. 

7.  State  railroad  and  warehouse  com- 


13.  County  auditors. 

14.  County  commissioners. 

5.  State-city  employment  offices. 
County  public  health  physicians. 

17.  State  board  of  control. 

18.  State  board  of  children's  guardians. 


15. 
16. 


mission.  |  19-  County  welfare  officers. 

8.  Veterans  welfare  commission.  j  20.  Here  are  omitted  those  of  Missouri 

9.  County  farm  agents.  not  covered  in  this  list. 
10.  State  purchasing  department. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  Can  you  give  me  some  information  regarding  the 
cooperation  received  from  the  Veterans'  Bureau? 

Mr.  SCHNEIDER.  The  district  vocational  office  in  St.  Louis  has 
given  us  permission  to  use  whatever  of  their  records  we  desire  to 
copy.  Mr.  Kidd  has  given  to  our  Miss  Davis  in  St.  Louis  some  very 
valuable  information  from  the  records  there  which  could  be  used 
here  in  St.  Louis.  They  have  given  us  every  cooperation,  and  we 
in  turn  have  cooperated  by  advising  them  regarding  several  of  their 
blind  cases,  three  of  which  we  have  in  training  in  Jefferson  City. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  My  experience  has  not  been  such.  On  one  occasion 
the  district  officer  flashed  an  official  order  that  he  had  received  from 
Washington,  in  which  he  was  told  not  to  discuss  the  case  of  any 
trainee  unless  the  trainee  was  present  and  gave  his  permission. 
Two  men  came  to  us  at  different  times.  These  disabled  felt  in  both 
cases  that  an  injustice  had  been  done  them.  We  have,  I  might  say, 
no  cooperation  in  Massachussetts. 

Mr.  SCHNEIDER.  Mr.  Head,  when  he  was  heading  up  the  work 
last  summer,  wrote  a  letter  to  each  of  his  field  agents  who  are  located 
in  five  different  cities  of  the  State,  and  asked  them  to  report  disabled 
persons  who  had  come  to  their  attention  and  who  had  no  just  claim 
for  compensation  and  training,  and  they  were  asked  to  report  those 
to  the  State  civilian  rehabilitation  service.  As  to  the  present  status, 
I  do  not  know  whether  that  ruling  has  been  promulgated.  I  could 
not  say  what  the  present  attitude  is. 

Mr.  SHAW.  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Stanton  how  do  you  meet  the 
problem  in  rural  counties;  where  you  have  no  town  of  any  size — 
you  have  such  counties — how  do  you  get  the  proposition  back  to 
those  people  where  you  haven't  much  in  the  way  of  an  agency  ? 

Mr.  STANTON.  In  every  county  we  have  some  one  person  cooperat- 
ing with  us.  It  may  be  a  nurse,  a  health  officer,  or  public  health 
officer.  In  one  county  of  the  kind  you  mention,  very  thinly  popu- 
lated, there  is  an  ex-Red  Cross  secretary.  I  meet  the  disabled 


92 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 


people  at  her  home.  She  is  very  much  interested  in  the  work.  We 
have  not  yet  established  these  committees  in  every  county.  We  are 
just  doing  that  at  the  present  and  we  have  established  them  in  the 
larger  counties.  I  do  not  know  just  how  that  is  going  to  work.  Do 
you  mean  you  can  not  find  people  to  help  you  in  such  communities  ? 
I  had  not  anticipated  that  problem.  I  believe  we  can  get  enough 
people  interested  who  will  be  willing  to  give  us  at  least  some  assist- 
ance. In  that  connection  we  have  worked  through  this  agency. 
We  worked  through  them  in  organizing  the  committee.  They  have 
given  us  a  great  deal  of  assistance  in  finding  proper  persons  who 
would  give  us  the  best  cooperation  and  who  are  the  people  who  are 
best  able  to  serve  on  the  committee. 


GROUP  MEETING. 

MAY    17—10.30    A.    M. 


CHAIRMAN:     W.     F.     FAULKES,     Supervisor,    Industrial 
Rehabilitation,  Wisconsin. 

Chairman  FAULKES.  The  purpose  of  this  group  meeting  is  to 
develop  suggestions  as  to  methods  of  cooperation  with  private 
agencies.  Mr.  Shaw,  of  Ohio,  is  the  first  speaker. 

COOPERATION    BY    PRIVATE   AGENCIES    IN   REHABILITATION 

WORK. 

W.  F.  SHAW,  Supervisor  of  Civilian  Rehabilitation,  Ohio. 

Private  agencies  are  likely  to  be  in  existence  as  long  as  human 
nature  remains  human.  They  afford  a  method  of  self-expression  to 
groups  of  people  associated  freely  for  the  purposes  of  general  welfare. 
Never  yet  have  they  become  obsolete.  In  this  democracy  of  ours 
they  have  always  pioneered  the  way.  During  the  late  World  War 
they  were  quick  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  meet  emer- 
gencies for  which  Federal  and  State  legislation  was  wholly  lacking. 
They  have  always  had  certain  advantages  over  any  Federal  or  State 
method  of  meeting  religious,  moral,  and  social  needs.  Very  little 
progress  could  be  expected  if  the  Government  were  given  the  entire 
lead  in  any  great  social  movement.  It  is  axiomatic  to  say  that  before 
any  cause  can  go  forward  it  must  win  through  merit  the  consent  of  a 
majority. 

REHABILITATION   IS    A    COMMUNITY    RESPONSIBILITY. 

Any  one  of  these  conclusions  is  written  large  in  the  history  of  any 
State.  In  the  special  field  of  rehabilitation  there  is  need  to  recog- 
nize the  value  of  these  private  agencies  which  often  in  the  minority, 
sometimes  alone,  and  usually  against  some  transient  drift  of  popular 
clamor  have  maintained  in  living  power  the  high  standards  of  com- 
munity life  which  must  obtain  if  civic  virtues  are  to  be  perpetuated. 
We  are  perfectly  frank  to  say  that  we  can  see  little  hope  of  justifying 
our  existence  as  rehabilitation  agencies  or  of  winning  the  public 
support,  without  which  our  work  will  be  seriously  retarded,  if  we 
fail  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  rehabilitation  of  disabled,  handi- 

93 


94  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

capped  men  and  women  is  a  community  responsibility  for  which 
the  community  must  accept  the  largest  share  of  social  obligation. 
Though  all  of  us  recognize  our  allegiance  to  the  Nation  and  hold 
legal  residence  in  a  State,  we  eat  and  sleep  in  towns  and  townships. 
Our  everyday  living  involves  a  triangular  cooperative  relationship 
by  which  our  lives  in  a  great  measure  are  influenced. 

VALUE  OF  STATE  ORGANIZATIONS. 

In  an  earlier  group  meeting  emphasis  was  directed  to  the  benefi- 
cial results  attained  by  working  with  other  State  departments.  The 
writer  would  be  remiss  in  his  duty  if  he  failed  to  pay  just  tribute  to 
other  State  departments  for  services  gladly  and  unselfishly  given. 
Within  the  last  ten  months  in  the  State  of  Ohio  we  have  profited 
greatly  from  having  as  helpers  the  trained  workers  of  the  industrial 
commission  with  14  claims  examiners  and  40  field  agents  from  whom 
we  have  received  approximately  1,700  new  cases  for  investigation; 
the  department  of  industrial  relations  with  8  State-city  employment 
offices  strategically, located  in  our  largest  employment  centers;  the 
State  department  of  health  with  88  county  health  commissioners 
(one  in  every  county),  82  city  health  commissioners,  and  2,000  public 
health  nurses.  On  invitation  of  the  State  department  of  health,  coop- 
erating with  Rotary  clubs,  we  have  been  permitted  to  attend  48 
clinics  for  crippled  children,  resulting  in  the  listing  of  1,564  names  of 
of  boys  and  girls  under  16  years  of  age — a  part  of  our  army  of  15,000 
crippled  boys  and  girls  in  Ohio  all  of  whom  sooner  or  later  may  need 
our  help.  For  the  logical  and  consistent  aid  of  State  agencies  we  are 
grateful,  but  our  attention  must  be  specifically  directed  to  the  still 
larger  group  of  private  agencies  who  take  pride  in  reflecting  in  terms 
of  action  the  highest  levels  of  community  aspirations  and  ideals. 

CERTAIN    PRIVATE    AGENCIES    LISTED. 

If  all  of  us  were  to  list  these  agencies  of  a  private  character  it  is 
believed  that  our  lists  would  not  differ  greatly.  They  seem  to  vary 
only  with  the  different  methods  of  community  organization.  In 
Ohio  we  have  received  practical  help  from  such  private  agencies  as 
the  Ohio  State  Medical  Association  with  87  affiliated  county  medical 
societies,  the  councils  for  social  agencies,  which  are  closely  organized 
in  our  eight  largest  cities,  the  District  Nurses,  the  Red  Cross  working 
through  75  home  service  secretaries,  the  Rotary,  Kiwanis,  and  Lions 
clubs,  the  newspaper  associations,  the  Ohio  Society  for  Crippled 
Children,  parent- teacher  organizations,  Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
groups,  chambers  of  commerce,  the  county  farm  agents,  city  and 
county  officials,  various  church  brotherhoods,  fraternal  orders,  and 
the  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs. 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  95 

CLEARING   AGENCIES    ESTABLISHED. 

Ninety  cities  have  designated  " clearing  agencies"  to  which  we 
may  refer  cases  for  preliminary  study  and  recommendations.  The 
efforts  of  these  " clearing  agencies"  are  supplemented  by  advisory 
committees  (usually  of  five  or  six  members)  selected  by  leaders  of  the 
different  private  agencies.  Almost  without  exception  an  advisory 
committee  represents  the  local  interests  which  have  most  knowledge 
of  our  problems  and  greatest  ability  to  meet  our  needs.  In  the  largest 
cities  we  are  meeting  regularily  each  month  with  this  advisory  com- 
mittee. Such  an  arrangement  now  obtains  in  11  cities,  Cleveland, 
Cincinnati,  Dayton,  Middletown,  Lima,  Springfield,  Lorain,  Canton, 
Akron,  Youngstown,  and  Toledo. 

WORKING  WITH  AN  ADVISORY  COMMITTEE. 

To-day  (May  17)  in  the  city  of  Dayton  this  group  is  in  session  with 
a  representative  from  our  office.  Six  people  carefully  selected  by  the 
bureau  of  community  service  because  of  what  they  know  and  can  do 
are  sitting  about  the  table  discussing  their  own  disabled  men  and 
women.  This  group  is  representative  enough  to  touch  every  needed 
avenue  of  approach  in  their  civic  life.  Here  is  the  head  of  the  district 
nurses,  the  coordinator  of  vocational  education,  the  executive  secre- 
tary of  the  Red  Cross,  the  representative  of  the  employers'  associa- 
tion, a  representative  of  the  hospitals,  the  director  of  the  State-city 
employment  office,  and  the  director  of  the  bureau  of  community 
welfare.  Back  of  them  and  ready  to  serve  upon  call  are  the  biggest 
and  busiest  people  in  this  manufacturing  city  whose  products  are 
known  throughout  the  Nation.  By  faith  they  built  a  new  Dayton 
which  towers  above  the  horrors  of  a  flood.  With  faith  in  their  own 
people  they  now  turn  to  the  reconstruction  of  human  lives.  One  by 
one  cases  are  considered,  accepted,  rejected,  referred  for%  placement, 
or  tabled  for  more  personal  investigation. 

To-morrow  a  similar  scene  will  be  enacted  in  Cincinnati  with 
another  committee  of  big,  busy  people  who  know  intimately  their 
own  city  and  its  vocational  possibilities,  and  who  plan  with  us  to 
help  their  own  people.  From  the  community  chest  through  the 
handicap  placement  bureau,  in  addition  to  office  rent  and  steno- 
graphic service,  we  have  been  given  a  full-time  social  worker,  and  a 
placement  officer,  both  of  whom  serve  under  the  leadership  of  the 
director  of  the  handicapped  placement  bureau,  who  acts  as  the 
" clearing  agency." 

CONFERENCES    WITH    REPRESENTATIVES    OF    PRIVATE   AGENCIES. 

Twice  a  year  conferences  of  the  " clearing  agency"  representatives 
are  called  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  communities  in  touch  with  the 


96  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

work  and  developing  new  policies  of  local  and  State  interest.  Late 
this  month  we  expect  to  hold  two  such  meetings,  one  for  workers  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  State  and  one  for  those  in  the  southern  part. 
We  shall  try  to  bring  to  these  workers  the  high  spots  of  this  con- 
vention and  to  discuss  our  plans  for  the  coming  year.  Naturally, 
the  discussions  will  center  on  our  failures  rather  than  on  any  measure 
of  success  which  may  have  been  attained. 

SERVICES    OF   A    GENERAL   CHARACTER    MAY    BE    GIVEN. 

There  are  certain  types  of  service  which  lie  outside  the  field  of 
work  on  individual  cases  which  private  agencies  can  do  more  ef- 
fectively than  a  State  agency. 

TAKING    A    STATE    CENSUS. 

1.  For  instance,  a  strong  private  agency  may  take  a  State  census 
of  the  disabled.  In  Ohio  the  week  of  May  8  was  designated  as 
" rehabilitation  week."  The  State  medical  association,  with  5,000 
members,  took  this  census  and  reported  to  our  office  at  the  end  of 
the  week  all  the  names  secured.  Two  hundred  and  seventy  news- 
papers, through  the  Western  Newspaper  Union,  carried  a  series  of 
three  articles,  asking  the  people  of  the  State  to  report  to  their  local 
doctors  the  names,  addresses,  and  nature  of  impairments  of  any  legal 
residents  of  the  State  of  Ohio  over  16  years  of  age  whom  it  was  desired 
to  call  to  the  attention  of  the  civilian  rehabilitation  service.  We 
used  the  idea  that  the  doctor  was  a  figure  familiar  to  all,  and  that 
he  has  a  telephone  on  his  desk.  The  State  Medical  Journal  carried 
two  articles,  The  Ohio  Manufacturers  Bulletin  indorsed  the  move- 
ment, the  Better  Schools  Bulletin  supported  it,  the  Lake  Division 
Red  Cross  News  urged  cooperation,  a  radiogram  was  broadcasted  by 
the  director  of  health,  moving  pictur3  houses  carried  slides,  and  many 
ministers  gave  space  in  the  church  bulletins  to  this  effort. 

Such  a  plan  has  obvious  weak  points.  Naturally  we  secured  the 
names  of  many  persons  for  whom  no  rehabilitation  program  can  be 
planned.  A  certain  few  resented  the  idea  of  being  reported  as  dis- 
abled. Of  course  duplicate  reports  were  received.  Some  few  doctors 
ignored  the  appeal.  These,  and  other  defects  in  the  plan  were  for- 
gotten in  the  job  of  reading  the  responses  which  "  rehabilitation  week  " 
brought.  We  now  have  a  better  view  of  State- wide  needs.  We 
know  something  more  of  our  types  of  disabilities.  We  know  where 
our  disabled  people  live,  and  this  in  turn  tells  us  where  we  need  to 
center  our  efforts  to  develop  strong  community  cooperation.  We 
took  our  proposals  right  into  the  homes  of  our  people.  Now  they 
know  who  we  are,  why  we  are,  and  where  we  are. 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  97 

CENTERING    ALL   THE    REHABILITATION    ACTIVITIES. 

2.  Another  valuable  contribution  which  may  be  made  by  a  group 
of  private  agencies  welded  into  one  association  in  a  city  is  vividly 
illustrated  by  the  recent  opening  (March  3)   of  the  new  Orthopedic 
Center  in  Cleveland.     Here  is  the  focal  point  of  all  the  work  being 
done  in  the  city  for  the  disabled,  both  children  and  adults.     For 
this  significant  achievement  the  civilian  rehabilitation  service  does 
not  claim  any  credit,  but  it  is  desired  to  point  to  this  as  an  example 
of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  a  city  whose  people  are  interested 
in  meeting  the  needs  of  their  handicapped  men  and  women.     The 
activities  which  are  centered  here  include  (1)  an  information  depart- 
ment,   (2)    a  social  service  department  which  in   addition   to   doing 
medical  social  service  furnishes   transportation  and   administers   a 
loan  fund  for  the  purchase  of  artificial  limbs,  (3)  a  home  industries 
department  which  provides  work  and  thus  diversion  and  income  to 
the  home-bound,  (4)  a  home  physiotherapy  department  which  provides 
treatments  for  those  for  whom  no  arrangement  can  be  made  through 
the  regular  clinics,   (5)  the  Sunbeam  training  school  and  workroom, 
which  offers  training  and  work  opportunities  in  the  making  of  chil- 
dren's clothes  to  girls  and  women  who  can  not  be  placed  in  regular 
industry,    (6)   an  employment  department  closely  affiliated  with  the 
one   branch   office   of   the   civilian   rehabilitation   service,   which  is 
housed  in  this  center,  and  the  Sunbeam  shop  which  is  the  salesroom 
for  the  products  of  the  training  school  and  workroom,  (7)  a  brace 
shop,   and   (8)   the  occupational  shop  conducted  by  the  association 
in  the  wards  for  the  crippled  at  the  city  infirmary.     Such  concen- 
tration of  interests  and  activities  radiates  an  ever-deepening  under- 
standing of  the  problems  confronting  those  who  work  here  with  the 
handicapped.     Visits    to    this    orthopedic    center    are    certain     to 
stimulate  healthy  activities  in  meeting  local  rehabilitation  problems 
elsewhere.     Private  agencies  again  pioneer  the  way. 

STUDYING    THE    COUNTY    AS    A    REHABILITATION    UNIT. 

3.  It  is  possible  for  a  small  agency  working  alone  to  accomplish 
great  good.     For  instance,  the  40  members  of  the  Lions  Club  of  Lima, 
the  county  seat  of  Allen  County,  recently  surveyed  the  county  for  the 
civilian   rehabilitation    service.     Two    members    of    the    club    were 
assigned  to  each  township  and  through  the  citizens  in  these  town- 
ships a  survey  was  completed.     Slides  were  provided  for  use  in  every 
moving  picture  theater  in  the  county,  full  newspaper  publicity  was 
given  to  the  work,  every  church  cooperated  either  with  announce- 
ments from  pulpits  or  in  church  bulletins,  members  of  the  club  were 
required  to  appear  before  various  organizations  during  the  preceding 

14765—22 7 


98  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

week.  Upon  completion  of  the  survey  the  ineligible  cases  were 
eliminated  and  there  were  submitted  to  the  rehabilitation  agent  and 
the  advisory  committee  those  cases  for  whom  it  was  believed  training 
was  necessary  and  feasible.  Plans  were  initiated  to  bring  an  eminent 
orthopedist  of  national  reputation  for  a  clinic  to  determine  if  the 
crippled  adults  who  were  recommended  for  training  may  first  be 
helped  through  surgery.  Those  who  can  be  helped  are  to  be  given 
assistance  by  the  Lions  Club  in  arranging  for  hospital  and  surgical 
care.  Following  this  orthopedic  work  the  cases  are  to  be  surveyed 
with  a  view  to  determining  vocational  training  needs.  Undoubtedly 
in  some  cases  it  will  be  found  that  physical  rehabilitation  is  all  that  is 
necessary  to  restore  normal  earning  power. 

SPECIAL    STUDIES    MAY    BE    UNDERTAKEN. 

4.  Without  attempting  to  exhaust  the  possibilities  we  hold  the 
opinion  that  it  is  feasible  for  private  agencies  when  properly  organized 
to  undertake  other  worth-while  studies  such  as  the  following: 

1.  An  industrial  study  of  the  handicapped: 

a.  To  make  an  investigation  of  employment  opportunities 

to  ascertain  how  many  and  what  kinds  of  jobs  could  be 
held  by  certain  classes  of  handicapped  workers  and 
what  training  would  be  necessary  for  such  jobs. 

b.  To  determine  how  many  and  what  kind  of  places  are 

being  filled  satisfactorily  by  certain  classes  of  handicaps. 

c.  To  establish  friendly  relations  with  employers  in  order  to 

insure  their  cooperation. 

2.  A  medical  study  of  the  handicapped: 

a.  To  determine  what  kind  of  work  the  handicapped  can  do 
and  its  effect  upon  the  physical  condition. 

6.  To  ask  medical  agencies  to  assist  by  reporting  the  diag- 
nosis so  that  intelligent  plans  may  be  made. 

c.  To  urge  trainees  to  report  periodically  to  physicians  in 

order  to  ascertain  the  effect  of  work  upon  their  health. 
Such  knowledge  would  furnish  valuable  information  for 
placing  similar  applicants. 

d.  To  request  hospitals   to  furnish   active  lists   of  handi- 

capped men  and  women  in  order  to  insure  prompt 
follow-ups. 

3.  A  social  study  of  the  handicaps: 

a.  To  study  the  abilities  of  persons  physically  handicapped. 

5.  To  determine  the  number  of  the  handicapped,  where 
they  are  employed,  and  the  nature  of  their  work. 

c.  To  learn  how  we  may  best  test  their  willingness  and  fit- 
ness for  the  job. 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  99 

WORKING    WITH   INDIVIDUAL    CASES. 

Along  with  such  activities  of  a  general  character  must  go  the  work 
with  individual  cases.  In  an  excellent  address  at  the  Kansas  City 
meeting  early  in  January,  Mr.  Oscar  M.  Sullivan  discussed  forms  of 
rehabilitation.  In  his  clear  manner,  step  by  step,  he  presented 
different  methods  used  to  accomplish  the  desired  results.  To  me 
it  has  been  interesting  to  check  the  work  of  private  agencies  in  accom- 
plishing individual  rehabilitations  through  the  methods  suggested 
by  Mr.  Sullivan. 

1.  Physical  restoration. — We  are  thinking  of  a  young  woman  19 
years  of  age  residing  in  a  southern  Ohio  city,  who  was  crippled  by  a 
fall  received  16  years  ago.  This  young  lady  was  reported  to  us  by 
the  Red  Cross  Home  Service  secretary,  and  was  found  to  be  in  a 
children's  home  where  she  was  working  for  her  room  and  board. 
She  wanted  to  qualify  for  a  position  as  nursery  governess.  An 
opportunity  was  found  for  her  in  Cleveland  through  the  efforts  of 
the  Association  for  the  Crippled  and  Disabled,  where  she  accepted 
a  training  and  employment  opportunity  in  Rainbow  Hospital.  She 
worked  five  days;  then  an  orthopedist  told  her  that  an  operation 
would  make  it  possible  for  her  to  walk  again  almost  as  well  as  any- 
body. A  very  successful  operation  and  the  necessary  hospital  atten- 
tion were  given  free  of  charge.  The  young  lady  expects  to  resume 
her  place  in  Rainbow  Hospital  about  the  1st  of  June.  Without  the 
help  of  the  Red  Cross,  the  Association  for  the  Crippled  and  Disabled, 
and  the  hospital  authorities,  we  could  not  have  accomplished  this 
rehabilitation. 

2.  Securing  suitable  prosthesis  for  a  man  54  years  of  age  with  a 
double  leg  amputation  will  make  it  possible  for  him  to  carry  on 
successfully  in  the  small  store  which  he  has  purchased.     To  quote 
his  own  sentence,  "Reading  your  letter  of  March  24th  brought  tears 
of  joy  to  my  eyes.     The  darkest  hour  of  my  life  has  loomed  to  day- 
light.    When  you  come  here  be  sure  to  walk  in  my  store.     I  want 
you  to  see  me  walking  on  the  legs  and  feet  you  got  for  me  to  walk  by." 

3.  Sometimes  upbuilding  the  morale  will  practically  accomplish  a 
rehabilitation.     We  are  thinking  of  a  newsboy  with  a  juvenile  court 
record  who  was  found  on  the  city  streets.     He  had  a  stiff  knee  with 
a  resultant  shortening  of  the  right  leg.     It  was  possible  for  him  to 
walk  only  by  stooping  down  in  a  most  awkward  position.     His 
parents   reluctantly   gave    their   permission    to   have    an   operation 
performed.     This  young  man  now  stands  erect  and  walks  with  a 
slight  limp.     He  has  entered  upon  a  training  program  which  will 
open  to  him  entirely  new  avenues  of  usefulness.     Only  a  private 
agency  able  to  interest  the  boy,  to  take  him  off  the  streets,  and  to 


100  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

secure  the  necessary  surgical  care  and  hospital  attention  could  have 
made  this  result  possible. 

4.  Placement  training  with  an  engraving  company  21  miles  from  his 
home,  plus  the  interest  of  a  Kiwanis  club,  is  making  possible   the 
rehabilitation  of  a  man  32  years  of  age  who  must  spend  the  rest  of 
his  days  in  a  wheel  chair.     The  jewelers  in  his  home  town  and  in 
two  near-by  towns  have  agreed  to  give  him  all  of  their  engraving 
work  which  previously  was  sent  to  Buffalo.     Four  private  agencies 
in  two  cities  are  working  harmoniously  on  behalf  of  this  young  man 
whose  rehabilitation  now  seems  to  be  an  assured  fact. 

5.  Institutional  training   was    secured    through    the    efforts    of    a 
community  service  association  for  an  18-year-old  lad  with  a  left-hand 
amputation.     Maintenance  was  provided  locally.     The  training  was 
given  in    a    city    70   miles    distant,   where    the   Council   for   Social 
Agencies,  through  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  was  interested  in  giving  every 
possible  opportunity  to  benefit  by  the  training.     When  his  placement 
seemed  impossible  in  the  city  where  the  training  was  given,  and  in 
his  home  city  as  well,  the  rehabilitation  agent  used  a  Social  Service 
Federation  in  still  another  city  to  make  the  placement. 

6.  Tutorial  instruction  in   poultry  husbandry,   supervised  by  the 
county  farm  agent  in  a  rural  county,  is  making  possible  the  rehabili- 
tation of  a  man  who  has  both  hands  amputated  at  the  wrist.     Before 
entering  upon  this  training  arrangement,  however,  because  the  man 
himself  felt  that  he  wanted  to  be  a  draftsman  or  a  bookkeeper,  through 
the  Rotary  Club  he  was  given  an  opportunity  to  spend  10  days  in 
the  office  of  a  leading  architect  in  Toledo.     During  this  time  he  was 
also  placed  in  touch  with  the  head  of  a  good  commercial  school  in 
that  city.     This  man  convinced  himself  that  he  did  not  want  to 
become  a  bookkeeper  or  a  draftsman.     He  is  now  satisfied  that  his 
training  program  is  one  suited  to  his  particular  personality  and  we 
believe  he  will  succeed.     It  required  both  city  and  county  agencies 
working  together  to  establish  this  training  program. 

7.  Correspondence   training,   supplemented   by   employment  in    a 
power  plant,  has  solved  the  problem  for  a  young  married  man  who 
has  a  right-arm  amputation  just  above  the  elbow.     This  man  may 
well  look  forward  to  the  time  when  he  will  be  a  competent  electrical 
engineer.     Only   through    the    efforts    of    an   interested   employers' 
association  and  a  real  foreman  was  this  rehabilitation  undertaken. 

8.  Establishment  in  a  business  of  his  own  supplemented  by  the 
sympathetic  help  of  a  wife  and  mother,  is  going  far  toward  turning  a 
blind  man  to  economic  independence.     In  this  case  the  industrial 
commission  granted  a  lump-sum  award  following  an  investigation 
made  by  the  rehabilitation  agent  and   representatives   of  at  least 
three  private  agencies. 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  101 

WHAT    PRIVATE    AGENCIES    HAVE    TO    CONTRIBUTE. 

The  more  we  study  rehabilitation  problems  the  more  we  feel  we 
have  in  common  with  private  agencies.  Cooperation  with  them  may 
decrease  neither  volume  of  travel  nor  financial  outlay.  It  most  cer- 
tainly will  increase  that  feeling  of  mutual  trust  and  helpfulness  which 
must  exist  when  good  people  are  stirred  by  the  spirit  of  service  for 
others.  In  developing  our  State  program  we  work  with  private 
agencies  primarily  for  these  reasons : 

1.  They  serve  to  keep  alive  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  com- 
munity problem  of  assuming  responsibility  for  its  own  handicapped 
men  and  women. 

2.  They  center  the  efforts  of  individual  groups  representing  widely 
diversified  interests  so  that  an  advisory  committee  may  be  secured 
which  will  be  representative  of  the  highest  levels  of  community  life' 
which  will  speak  with  authority  for  all,  and  with  complete  knowledge 
of  vocational  possibilities  within  the  community. 

3.  Upon  request  they  are  equipped  to  conduct  initial  investiga- 
tions in  the  homes  of  disabled  men  and  women  through  trained  work- 
ers, to  make  reports  following  such  visits,  to  steady  the  morale  of  the 
trainee  in  his  home,  to  bring  the  rehabilitation  agents  quickly  into 
touch  with  training  opportunities  and  placement  possibilities,  and 
to  make  training  inductions  in  the  absence  of  the  rehabilitation  agent 
when  the  training  program  has  been  approved. 

4.  They  can  readily  eliminate  ineligible  cases  through  preliminary 
studies  and  thus  save  the  time  of  the  rehabilitation  agent,  who  then 
need  consider  those  cases  deemed  most  worthy  by  the  advisory  com- 
mittee.    For  instance,  at  our  request,  a  committee  of  10  seniors  in 
the  sociology  class  at  the  University  of  Cincinnati  studying  "Our 
community/'  recently  made  calls  at  the  homes  of  114  men  and  women 
disabled  in  industry  in  their  city  and  receiving  compensation  for 
these  injuries  from  the  State  industrial  commission.     These  prelimi- 
nary visits  give  us  definite  knowledge  of  the  real  problems  concerned 
in  what  had  been  merely  a  list  of  114  names.     Effort  then  centered 
on  getting  help  to  the  interested  people  in  the  best  possible  manner 
with  the  least  possible  loss  of  time. 

5.  They  keep  on  the  alert  for  new  cases,  new  training  possibilities, 
new  employment  opportunities,  through  constant  contact  with  ebbs 
and  flows  of  local  industrial  tides.     Any  community  will  take  com- 
mendable pride  in  being  able  to  carry  forward  to  completion  training 
programs  for  their  own  disabled  men  and  women. 

6.  They  secure  from  the  agency  best  prepared  to  meet  a  known 
need  such  helpful  services  as  the  following : 

(1)  Maintenance  during  the  training  period  if  this  is  not  provided 
by  law. 


102  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

(2)  Proper  surgical  care,  necessary  prosthetic  appliances,  and  hos- 
pital attention. 

(3)  Office  space,  equipment,  stenographic  help,  placement  officers, 
social  workers,  and  the  like. 

(4)  Such  gifts,  financial  and  other,  as  the  community  may  desire 
to  make  toward  meeting  situations  for  which  the  law  does  not  provide, 
but  which  the  community  recognizes  as  essential  in  the  development 
of  the  work. 

7.  They  keep  the  home  people  advised  of  what  is  being  done, 
emphasizing  the  fact  that  achievements  in  individual  rehabilitations 
will  not  rise  higher  than  community  effort.  To  accomplish  much 
these  private  agencies  must  undertake  much  and  then  be  contented 
to  let  results  speak.  Later  on  if  votes  are  needed  for  additional 
legislation  found  to  be  necessary,  the  proofs  of  the  value  of  the  work 
are  matters  of  common  knowledge  back  home  where  the  legislators 
live,  and  where  the  votes  are  counted. 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  BEHIND  THE  APPEAL  TO  A  LOCAL  COMMUNITY. 

The  other  day  a  much-loved  doctor,  who  is  somewhat  of  a  philos- 
opher, and  who  for  years  has  worked  in  his  home  city  to  be  ready  to 
greet  the  first  rehabilitation  agent,  expressed  in  his  gentle  manner 
the  essence  of  what  we  are  trying  to  do  for  each  community.  His 
sincere  words  will  bear  repeating:  " Start  the  work  slowly;  let  it  grow 
gradually;  tell  us  all  about  it;  make  us  want  to  help  you  so  much 
that  we  come  to  look  upon  this  work  as  a  necessity. "  And  so  the 
work  will  grow  from  day  to  day,  meeting  the  challenge  of  new  oppor- 
tunities, secure  in  its  position  as  an  established  factor  in  community 
life,  strong  in  its  grip  upon  those  who  must  give  it  legislative  encourage- 
ment and  support,  and  deeply  implanted  in  the  lives  of  those  whom 
we  serve. 

Chairman  FAULKES.  Let  us  now  hear  from  Director  Fulmer  on 
the  subject  of  "  Cooperation." 

C.  A.  FULMER,  Director  of  Vocational  Education, 
Nebraska. 

The  necessity  for  effective  cooperation  in  the  vocational  rehabilita- 
tion program  between  the  State  board  for  vocational  education  and 
private  agencies  is,  in  the  light  of  experience,  now  fully  apparent. 

Some  of  the  means  by  which  such  agencies  can  be  of  assistance, 
as  indicated  in  one  of  the  Federal  Board's  bulletins  (Misc.  240, 
Part  III),  under  " Cooperation  with  Social  Service  Agencies/'  will 
serve  as  a  general  outline  for  this  paper. 

A  free  exchange  of  experiences  is  perhaps  the  most  helpful  form  of 
conference  called  for  the  consideration  of  any  program  in  process  of 
development.  For  that  reason  some  of  Nebraska's  successes  and  fail- 
ures in  dealing  with  private  agencies  will  be  reviewed. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  103 

SOME  OF  THE  MEANS  BY  WHICH  SUCH  AGENCIES  CAN  BE  OF  ASSISTANCE. 

"  (a)  By  reporting  cases  not  otherwise  heard  of." 

Out  of  150  disabled  persons  now  listed,  only  a  few  reported  them- 
selves. Many  deserving  and  eligible  men  and  women,  on  account 
of  modesty,  suspicion,  misunderstanding,  discouragement,  and  un- 
willingness to  accept  what  some  might  call  charity,  or  resignation  to 
their  disabilities,  hesitate  to  apply  for  or  even  consider  the  benefits 
of  retraining.  Evidently  a  large  percentage  of  cases  will  be  reported 
by  interested  individuals  or  agencies. 

Last  October  a  brief  announcement  entitled  "A  New  Chance  for 
Disabled  Men  and  Women, "  together  with  a  request  that  it  be  given 
publicity,  was  sent  to  State  papers.  All  complied  with  the  request. 
This  was  the  announcement : 

A   NEW  CHANCE   FOR  DISABLED  MEN   AND    WOMEN.     FEDERAL  AND 
STATE  FUNDS   NOW  AVAILABLE. 

WHO    MAY    BE    BENEFICIARIES. 

Men  or  women  who  are  so  disabled  physically  by  accident  or  disease  that  they  can 
not  earn  a  livelihood  and  who  are  capable  of  being  rendered  fit  to  engage  in  some  other 
occupation.  In  each  case  the  feasibility  of  retraining  both  from  the  physical  and 
vocational  standpoints  must  be  determined. 

WHERE    THE    RETRAINING   IS    DONE. 

In  public  and  private  institutions,  industrial  plants,  shops,  offices,  at  home,  or 
anywhere  the  student  may  be  trained  efficiently  in  the  most  advantageous  way  and 
in  the  shortest  possible  time.  No  classes  are  formed  because  each  case  must  be  treated 
individually. 

USE    OF   FUNDS. 

Funds  may  be  used  for  instruction,  incidental  fees  regularly  charged  by  schools, 
necessary  books  and  supplies,  but  no  funds  are  available  for  the  maintenance  of  stu- 
dents during  training. 

WORKMEN'S  COMPENSATION  ACT. 

Acceptance  of  training  by  persons  injured  in  industry  does  not  deprive  them  of 
any  rights  under  the  workmen's  compensation  act. 

FOR  CIVILIANS. 

This  service  is  distinct  from  that  of  the  rehabilitation  of  disabled  soldiers,  sailors, 
and  marines  of  the  World  War  now  being  carried  on  by  the  Federal  Government. 

YOUR    HELP. 

You  can  help  by  sending  in  the  names  and  post-office  addresses  of  any  disabled 
persons  whom  you  may  know  or  of  whom  you  may  learn. 
Address:  C.  A.  FULMER, 

204  University  Temple,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 

The  State  director's  name  was  signed  in  order  to  assist  readers 
in  distinguishing  vocational  rehabilitation  from  soldiers ;  rehabilitation. 


104  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

The  papers  publishing  the  announcement  were  the  Nebraska 
Manufacturers  Association  Bulletin,  State  Medical  Journal,  the 
Nebraska  Teacher,  the  Middle-West  School  Review,  State  Nurses 
Association  Bulletin,  Nebraska  Tuberculosis  Association  Bulletin? 
and  the  five  leading  State  daily  papers.  The  bureau  of  health  in 
the  department  of  public  welfare  sent  a  copy  of  the  announcement 
to  each  nurse  in  the  State.  The  Western  Newspaper  Union  which 
supplies  about  2,450  newspapers  with  plate  matter,  in  response  to  the 
request,  wrote  as  follows :  "  I  am  answering  your  letter  of  a  few  days 
ago  by  inclosing  proof  of  your  .copy  as  we  will  use  it  in  our  State 
News.  It  is  not  often  we  can  use  such  a  long  article,  but  realizing 
the  importance  of  this  one  we  made  special  effort  to  give  it  space. " 

The  announcement  reached  every  part  of  the  State  and  it  was 
read  by  thousands  of  people.  Quite  naturally,  a  flood  of  responses 
was  expected  but  only  a  few  came  straggling  in.  However,  they 
keep  coming  and  in  as  large  numbers  as  they  can  be  handled 
thoroughly. 

Cases  have  been  reported  by  teachers,  preachers,  doctors,  nurses, 
Red  Cross,  American  Legion,  Department  of  Labor,  County  Super- 
intendents of  Schools,  and  by  others  who  have  read  or  heard  about 
the  work. 

"  (&)  By  bringing  influence  to  bear  upon  persons  who  should  accept 

rehabilitation  service  but  are  refusing  or  postponing  it." 
As  stated  before,  many  persons,  for  various  reasons,  hesitate  to 
accept  rehabilitation  service.     Often  some  one  who  understands  the 
person  and  the  service  can  change  the  attitude  of  mind  from  that  of 
indifference  to  interest. 

C.  M.  offers  an  illustration  of  just  such  a  case.  C.  M.,  a  man  who 
fought  overseas,  the  cause  of  whose  disability  (ankylosis  of  the  cer- 
vical vertebrae)  could  not  be  traced  to  actual  Army  service,  had 
become  embittered  by  what  he  considered  unfair  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  Government  officials.  A  banker  friend,  unable  to  interest 
C.  M.  in  the  announcement  that  appeared  in  the  local  paper,  wrote 
a  letter  of  inquiry  and  signed  it  with  C.  M.'s  name  in  typewriting. 
Three  letters  written  by  the  State  office  to  C.  M.  were  unanswered. 
The  fourth  one  brought  a  reply.  Then  as  the  result  of  an  agent's 
visit  and  the  friendly  interest  of  the  banker  friend,  C.  M.  is  being 
trained  for  a  certified  accountant,  and  he  is  in  a  happy  frame  of 
mind. 

Success  in  almost  every  case,  no  doubt,  is  the  result  of  several 
influences  brought  to  bear  upon  the  prospective  trainee  and  all  coop- 
erating with  the  State  office. 

"  (c)  By  supplying  or  arranging  for  maintenance  for  the  disabled 
person  and  his  family  during  the  period  of  training,  or  by  sup- 
plementing inadequate  grants  of  maintenance." 


VOCATIONAL,  REHABILITATION.  105 


In  Nebraska  all  of  the  immediate  functions  of  rehabilitation  are 
assumed  directly  by  the  State  board,  and  the  State  department  of 
labor  cooperates  by  rendering  assistance  at  points  at  which  the 
compensation  work  and  the  rehabilitation  work  touch.  Inasmuch 
as  the  relation  between  workmen's  compensation  and  industrial  reha- 
bilitation is  a  subject  of  another  discussion  on  the  program,  it  will 
not  be  considered  in  this  paper. 

AMERICAN    LEGION    AND    RED    CROSS. 

An  act  of  the  1921  legislature  provided  for  an  invested  fund  of 
$2,000,000,  the  income  from  which  is  to  be  used  for  the  care  and  relief 
of  discharged  soldiers,  sailors,  marines,  and  nurses.  The  disburse- 
ment of  the  interest  accumulations  of  the  fund  is  intrusted  to  the 
executive  committee  of  the  State  American  Legion.  Moneys  re- 
ceived may  be  expended  in  furnishing  food,  wearing  apparel,  medical 
or  surgical  aid,  care,  or  relief.  The  important  bearing  of  this  act  upon 
industrial  rehabilitation  is  obvious.  A  man,  disabled  since  his  dis- 
charge from  service,  may  receive  maintenance  from  this  fund  during 
industrial  rehabilitation.  The  Legion  executive  committee  has  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  cooperate  with  the  State  boaro!,,  and  already  funds 
have  been  appropriated  in  two  cases. 

Local  Legion  posts  are  willing  to  provide  or  arrange  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  service  men  during  training.  Red  Cross  funds  are  also 
available  in  some  cases. 

The  case  of  V.  M.  is  an  example  of  all-around  cooperation.  V.  M.,  a 
service  man  disabled  since  the  war,  will  live  at  the  Lincoln  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
during  training.  His  local  Legion  post  out  in  the  State  and  the  local 
Red  Cross  chapter  provided  maintenance  on  the  50-50  basis. 

The  case  of  R.  M.  is  another  illustration.  R.  M.,  a  disabled  man 
living  in  a  small  town,  is  being  taught  the  cobbler's  trade  in  a  shop 
equipped  by  funds  loaned  by  the  county  Red  Cross.  The  instructor 
of  R.  M.  was  sent  out  from  Lincoln  by  the  State  board. 

HOSPITALS. 

S.  M.  is  a  patient  in  the  Nebraska  Hospital  for  Tuberculosis. 
Last  fall  the  attending  physician  reported  that  S.  M.'s  disease  was 
practically  arrested  and  that  he  would  probably  be  discharged  this 
coming  summer.  Since  that  time  S.  M.,  while  living  in  the  hospital 
at  the  State's  expense,  has  been  pursuing  a  course  in  retraining  in  the 
Kearney  State  Normal  College  which  will  be  completed  by  the  time 
he  is  discharged. 

Another  case  is  that  of  J.  W.,  a  patient  in  the  State  Orthopedic 
Hospital  in  Lincoln.  J.  W.  is  deaf,  and  he  also  has  a  hip  deformity. 


106  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

He  will  be  in  the  hospital  until  some  time  next  fall.  Meanwhile  he 
attends  school  in  an  " opportunity"  room,  where  he  is  receiving 
instruction  in  lip  reading,  and  the  State  board  is  giving  him  a  course 
in  cartooning. 

C.  W.,  a  disabled  man,  widower  with  three  children,  is  janitor  in  a 
sanitary  dairy  company.     The  company  offers  to  furnish  mainte- 
nance for  C.  W.  and  children  during  the  period  of  retraining — 
"  (d)  By  securing  medical  service  for  the   disabled  person  or  his 
family  during  the  period  training." 

The  State  fund  for  the  aid  of  discharged  soldiers,  sailors,  marines, 
and  nurses  is  available  for  this  purpose. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  NEBRASKA,  COLLEGE  OF  MEDICINE. 

The  following  letter  is  self-explanatory: 

Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  21st  (May,  1921),  I  am  glad  to  advise  that  we  shall 
lie  glad  to  assist  the  rehabilitation  work  in  any  way  possible.  As  you  know,  the  uni- 
versity hospital  affords  free  treatment  to  those  citizens  of  Nebraska  who  are  without 
property  or  earning  power  and  consequently  unable  to  pay  a  physician.  Individuals 
coming  under  this  category  will  be  cared  for. 
Cordially  yours, 

IRVING  S.  CUTTER,  Dean. 

W.  A.  applied  for  rehabilitation  service.  He  had  lost  full  use  of 
his  legs.  The  city  physician  thought  that  he  might  be  helped  and 
possibly  cured  by  medical  treatment.  He  was  a  patient  in  the  uni- 
versity hospital  for  three  weeks.  His  ailment  was  diagnosed  as 
locomotor  ataxia,  incurable  and  progressive.  The  case  was  closed. 
This  hospital  is  willing  to  cooperate  in  cases  requiring  physical  as  a 
prerequisite  to  vocational  rehabilitation. 

OTHER   HOSPITALS. 

The  State  board  has  been  encouraged  to  believe  that  certain 
private  and  church  hospitals  will  offer  the  same  liberal  cooperation. 

SOCIETY  FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF  THE  DISABLED. 

The  Society  for  the  Relief  of  the  Disabled,  an  Omaha  institution, 
collects  approximately  a  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars  each 
year  and  expends  this  sum  almost  wholly  for  the  purchase  of  braces 
and  orthopedic  appliances  for  worthy  poor.  This  society,  also,  is 
willing  to  cooperate  with  the  State  board. 

PHYSICIANS. 

In  a  number  of  cases  physicians  have  furnished  medical  and  sur- 
gical service  gratuitously  to  prospective  trainees.  Physical  exam- 
inations have  been  made  without  charge.  In  three  instances  local 
physicians  have  taken  measurements  and  made  casts  for  artificial 
arms. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  107 

AMERICAN    LEGION    AND    RED    CROSS. 

Local  Legion  posts  and  Ked  Cross  chapters  are  always  ready  for 
such  service. 

11  (e)  By  supplementing  the  efforts  of  the  State  board's  agents  to  keep 
the  person  in  the  ' carry  on'  frame  of  mind  throughout  the  period 
of  training,  and  of  adjustment  in  employment  following  train- 
ing." 

Success  in  the  work  depends  in  a  large  measure  upon  the  ability 
of  the  State  board's  agents  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  one  or  more 
persons  who  are  in  intimate  touch  with  the  trainee.  Discouragement 
and  depression  of  spirit  incident  to  a  physical  disability  make  an 
almost  constant  stimulation  of  interest  and  hope  necessary.  For 
these  reasons  the  State  board  should  seek  to  cultivate  helpful  rela- 
tions with  all  private  agencies  within  reach. 
The  following  cases  will  serve  as  illustrations: 

1.  V.  M. — Maintenance  provided  by  American  Legion  and  Red 

Cross,  50-50,  while  trainee  lives  in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building, 
where  picked  men  will  "big  brother"  him. 

2.  C.  H. — His  pastor,  in  whom  he  has  confidence,  surveyed  the 

case,  managed  his  physical  examination,  advised  with  the 
agent  who  visited  C.  H.,  and  is  now  keeping  in  close  touch 
with  the  man. 

3.  V.  B. — Is  a  Mexican  who  can  not  speak  English.     He  has 

a  wife  and  six  children.  After  an  agent  had  explained  re- 
habilitation work  to  a  group  of  University  of  Nebraska 
graduate  students  in  social  science,  the  professor  in  charge 
asked  permission  for  the  group  to  assume  responsibility  for 
one  case.  The  V.  B.  case  was  selected  for  the  study. 
One  of  the  group,  who  has  had  successful  experience  in 
social  work,  made  the  necessary  contact  with  the  man 
through  an  interpreter,  surveyed  the  case,  won  his  confi- 
dence, made  arrangements  for  a  course  in  English  for  for- 
eigners and  returned  to  the  State  board  a  report  of  her  work. 
After  the  man  learns  to  speak  English  the  board's  agent  will 
take  charge  of  his  training,  which  has  already  been  agreed 
upon.  This  student  made  frequent  reports  to  her  group  with 
the  result  that  scores  in  the  department  are  now  interested  in 
rehabilitation.  The  Americanization  of  V.  B.  is  proceeding 
rapidly  since  he  learned  that  Americans  are  interested  in  him. 

4.  E.  B. — A  teacher  with  considerable  talent  aspires  to  be  a  short- 

story  writer.  Mrs.  Bess  Streeter  Aldrich,  a  Nebraska 
woman  whose  stories  in  the  American  Magazine  and  other 
periodicals  are  read  with  so  much  pleasure  and  profit,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  board's  agent,  has  been  corresponding 


108  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

with  E.  B.,  offering  advice  and  inspiration.  Mrs.  Aldrich 
will  later  travel  across  the  State  to  spend  a  little  time  with 

E.  B. 

5.  F.  O. — A  man  partially  paralyzed  from  his  hips  down  began 

training  for  a  shoe  cobbler.  The  president  of  the  local 
Rotary  Club,  Mr.  D.,  upon  request  of  the  board's  agent, 
formed  an  acquaintance  with  F.  O.,  "  big-brothered "  and 
encouraged  him  until  it  became  apparent  that  on  account 
of  defective  vision  training  for  the  cobbler's  trade  was  not 
feasible.  Since  then  through  Mr.  D.'s  influence  and  advice 

F.  O.   has  become  established  in   a  peanut   and  popcorn 
business.     The  relationship  between  the  agent  and  F.  O. 
has  become  so  personal  that  friendly  letters  are  exchanged 
at  least  once  in  two  weeks. 

6.  J.  K. — Is  an  epileptic  with  the  rank  of  junior  in  a  college  of 

engineering.  His  occasional  seizures  although  very  light 
made  classroom  work  and  employment  in  an  architect's  or 
an  engineer's  office  undesirable.  '  Worry  and  disappointment 
aggravated  his  affliction.  Through  the  good  offices  of  the 
State  secretary  of  public  works  J.  K.  was  given  a  position 
on  a  salary  in  the  drafting  department  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  a  few  men  who  understood  his  case.  J.  K.  has  made 
a  creditable  record,  and  he  has  had  no  seizure  since  he  was 
placed  in  this  position.  He  will  prepare  for  out-of-doors 
engineering  work. 

7.  J.  P. — Suffered  an  injury  to  his  spine  that  required  more  than 

a  year's  hospital  treatment.  He  draws  $15  per  week 
compensation.  Upon  leaving  the  hospital  he  reported  to 
the  commissioner  of  labor,  who  directed  him  to  the  State 
board  for  information  concerning  rehabilitation.  The 
attending  physician,  J\  P.,  and  the  agent  agreed  upon  the 
barber's  trade  as  suitable  for  the  young  man.  He  was 
discouraged,  almost  despondent.  His  case  was  presented 
to  S.,  one  of  the  leading  barbers  in  the  city,  who  formed  his 
acquaintance  and  assured  him  success  in  the  work.  S. 
introduced  J.  P.  to  the  manager  of  a  barber's  college  in 
which  training  is  now  being  given.  J.  P.  and  S.  visit 
frequently  and  as  soon  as  the  course  of  training  is  completed 
the  "big  brother"  will  assist  the  young  man  in  setting  up 
in  business. 

8.  M. — A  ne'er-do-well  in  a  small  town,  reported  by  the  super- 

intendent of  schools  and  encouraged  by  the  agent,  the 
local  Red  Cross,  and  the  cobbler-teacher  who  has  spent 
six  weeks  at  the  bench  with  the  trainee,  has  been  trans- 
formed into  a  self-respecting  man  who  has  now  establish 
a  growing  business. 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  109 

These  cases  might  be  duplicated  in  every  State. 

Another  means  might  be  added  to  those  listed  above,  viz,  (/) 
by  educating  the  people,  through  all  these  private  agencies,  up  to  an 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  vocational  rehabilitation  looking  to- 
ward adequate  supporting  legislation  and  appropriations. 

After  all,  continuance  of  vocational  rehabilitation,  begun  so  success- 
fully, depends  in  a  peculiar  way  upon  the  support  of  many  persons 
and  agencies  whose  interest  has  been  stimulated  by  participation  in 
the  great  work. 

Cooperation  is  the  slogan. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

CHAIRMAN  FAULKES.  In  Wisconsin  we  have  worked  out  a  plan 
wherein  splendid  cooperation  is  given  by  the  vocational  education 
department.  We  have  secured,  also,  the  cooperation  of  welfare  and 
social  organizations.  Members  of  Rotary  clubs,  Kiwanis  clubs, 
Lions  clubs,  chambers  of  commerce,  Red  Cross,  and  other  agencies 
are  active  in  their  communities  in  assisting  in  our  work.  I  believe  in 
this,  that  eventually  rehabilitation  is  going  to  be  a  local  responsi- 
bility, but  it  is  a  responsibility  that  should  be  shouldered  by  the  tax- 
payers of  the  community  and  not  by  the  private  agencies.  They 
can  give  us  assistance  that  is  worth  while  and  that  we  should  have. 

.In  our  State  we  are  developing  a  plan  of  using  local  committees  on 
ocational  rehabilitation.  These  committees  will  be  mostly  of  an 
advisory  nature,  but  their  personnel  will  include  a  working  secretary 
who  will  make  a  study  of  local  conditions  and  be  prepared  to  co- 
operate with  the  State  department  in  promoting  our  service  in  the 
community.  The  committees  will  in  most  instances  be  made  up 
of  representatives  of  the  various  social,  health,  business,  and  labor 
organizations  in  the  local  community.  Each  local  committee  will 
choose  its  own  chairman  and  vice  chairman  and  such  other  officers 
as  it  deems  essential  to  the  proper  execution  of  the  work.  For 
obvious  reasons  it  seems  advisable  that  the  executive  secretary  be 
named  by  the  State  department.  Since  much  of  the  training  pro- 
gram will  be  taken  up  by  the  local  vocational  schools,  when  such  exist, 
they  will  assist  in  these  fields  of  endeavor,  and  such  institutional 
training  as  may  be  required  in  the  rehabilitation  of  any  handicapped 
person  will  be  undertaken  in  full  cooperation  with  the  local  vocational 
school.  In  connection  with  these  committees,  our  plan  is  to  have 
two  State  conferences  a  year,  for  the  purpose  of  developing  plans  and 
policies  and  to  convince  local  boards  that  they  should  shoulder  a  part 
of  the  responsibility  for  the  work. 

Mr.  Shaw  and  Mr.  Fulmer  brought  up  things  that  warrant  dis- 
cussion. 


110  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

Mr.  STANTON.  Mr.  Shaw  asked  me  a  question  regarding  the  organiz- 
ing of  cooperating  committees  in  the  smaller  counties  and  in  the 
larger  cities.  We  have  not  done  much  in  organizing  these  commit- 
tees in  the  larger  cities  in  the  State.  Mr.  Shaw,  how  do  you  select 
the  best  people?  The  social  workers  are  usually  so  busy  that  it  is 
not  so  easy  to  get  them  to  cooperate  in  the  larger  cities  as  in  the 
smaller  ones. 

Mr.  SHAW.  It  has  been  easy  in  our  larger  cities  simply  because  of  a 
State  condition.  We  have  the  eight  largest  cities  already  organized, 
through  which  every  social  agency  must  function,  so  that  we  claim 
no  credit.  In  a  city  where  there  is  no  such  organization  it  is  necessary 
to  convince  the  agencies  of  the  county  that  can  offer  most  help. 
Sometimes  we  go  to  the  chamber  of  commerce  to  find  out  who  the 
big,  busy  people  are.  In  every  city  there  are  groups  and  groups 
within  groups.  If  we  can  get  a  leader  out  of  such  a  group  we  can 
make  our  initial  contact.  The  big  problem  is  to  get  back  to  the 
agricultural  groups  and  the  men  disabled  in  the  mines.  There  we 
have  had  to  use  the  Smith-Hughes  teachers  and  the  home  "service 
secretaries  of  the  Red  Cross.  The  nurses  have  been  a  tremendous 
help  in  getting  into  these  inaccessible  places.  There  is  a  way  in 
every  city.  Our  problem  is  to  set  up  an  organization  there  through 
which  we  may  work. 

Mr.  SPITZ.  It  might  be  interesting  for  the  conference  to  learn  the 
result  of  the  survey  that  Ohio  made — the  number  of  cripples  and 
handicaps  in  the  State.  We  have  been  asked  how  many  there  are  in 
New  Jersey,  but  we  have  hesitated  to  make  such  a  survey  for  fear  we 
might  be  swamped  with  cases  that  might  all  want  to  be  rehabilitated 
at  the  same  time.  There  are  so  many  new  cases  that  it  takes  all  our 
time.  There  are  16,000  industrial  workers  injured  in  our  State  each 
year.  It  might  be  comforting  to  know  the  result  of  the  survey  made 
in  Ohio.  What  is  the  population  of  Ohio  ? 

Mr.  SHAW.  Five  million.- 

Mr.  SPITZ.  New  Jersey's  is  3,000,000. 

Mr.  SHAW.  We  debated  a  long  time  before  we  took  this  step.  We 
did  not  know  whether  we  would  be  swamped  with  requests.  The 
biggest  thing  was  in  the  publicity,  and  the  fact  that  everybody  had 
an  opportunity  to  know  who  we  were.  We  have  had  more  than  800 
replies  from  doctors,  some  of  them  have  sent  in  as  many  as  six  or 
eight  names.  We  shall  probably  get  1,500  replies  from  doctors.  But 
the  best  thing  is  the  fact  that  every  doctor  now  knows  how  to  present 
one  of  his  cases  to  us.  An  avenue  of  approach  for  the  succeeding 
years  to  the  rehabilitation  agencies  of  the  State  has  been  opened,  and 
from  now  on  these  doctors  may  come  to  us,  and  even  doctors  who  now 
know  of  no  persons  needing  our  services.  We  were  not  swamped. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  Ill 

We  apportioned  the  names  received  to  other  avenues  in  the  State  for 
investigation.  I  think  that  is  about  the  result  any  State  will  get. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  A  survey  was  made  in  Wisconsin,  a  survey  of  the 
blind,  developing  2,500  to  2,600  cases.  They  had  not  built  up  the 
organization  to  take  care  of  them.  As  a  result  they  are  getting  a 
kick  back.  I  believe,  however,  that  if  you  go  at  the  survey  very 
cautiously,  you  can  get  a  lot  of  information  across. 

Miss  BLANCHE  RENARD.  It  is  true  that  if  social  agencies  were  sold 
on  this  proposition  that  the  rehabilitation  office  would  be  so  busy 
that  they  would  never  get  through  their  work,  because  every  agency 
conies  in  contact  with  rehabilitation  work.  Mr.  Shaw's  present 
social  work  is  perhaps  better  organized.  They  have  not  only  well- 
organized  federated  work,  but,  also,  they  have  a  marvelous  survey 
of  the  crippled  people.  In  other  words,  they  had  their  problem 
before  you  ever  had  to  get  on  the  job.  Cooperation  should  be  coor- 
dination, by  supplementing  the  thing  you  are  offering.  The  big 
problem  of  the  social  workers  is  that  they  are  not  financially  equipped 
to  provide  living  expenses  for  individuals  or  families  through  a  long 
period  of  training.  As  supervisor  of  the  Home  Service  Section  of 
the  Red  Cross,  we  had  no  difficulty  persuading  the  men  disabled  in 
the  service  to  take  vocational  training,  because  their  living  expenses 
were  paid  at  the  time.  WTiat  can  we  do  where  the  person  is  willing 
to  get  the  thing  you  are  offering  him,  and  where  no  provision  is  made 
to  provide  living  expenses  during  training?  We  can  give  them 
medical  care,  social  service,  and  many  of  the  other  services,  but  our 
agencies  are  not  equipped  to  provide  living  expenses  while  in  training 
by  the  Federal  Board.  Has  that  difficulty  been  encountered  in  other 
States  ? 

Mr.  FAULKES.  Wisconsin  has  a  maintenance  fund  which  is  limited, 
by  which  we  provide  maintenance.  We  have  had  the  cooperation  of 
the  Red  Cross.  We  found  one  fund  of  $70,000  left  over  from  the 
subscription  from  the  war.  We  have  made  it  a  revolving  fund  for 
maintenance.  We  do  not  give  maintenance  to  anybody.  Giving 
money  to  anybody  is  a  bad  habit.  We  loan  that  money  out  to  the 
person.  We  will  loan  a  person  a  certain  amount  and  he  pays  it  back. 
Our  State  fund  amounts  to  about  $10,000. 

Mr.  SHAW.  I  rather  welcome  the  challenge.  I  am  glad  we  do  not 
have  a  maintenance  fund.  We  have  been  buffaloed  in  eight  cases 
where  we  had  to  go  into  the  committee  and  ask  for  funds,  but  it  can 
be  worked  out  in  the  community,  and  not  by  using  the  agencies  most 
commonly  called  upon.  We  have  a  boy  who  is  a  Presbyterian.  He 
has  been  helped  by  a  fund  from  the  Presbyterian  church.  It  is  our 
job  to  find  them.  Work  it  out  locally. 


112  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  The  Elks  have  a  big  fund  for  promoting  work  among 
the  cripples.  I  am  taking  it  up  with  the  supervisory  officers  to  get 
that  fund  for  State-wide  work. 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  We  can  pay  a  living  maintenance  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  rehabilitation  agency  is  allowed  to  pay  $15  a  week  as  a  maxi- 
mum for  the  support  of  the  rehabilitation  program.  We  make  a 
survey,  decide  the  cost  and  general  expenses,  and  estimate  the  weekly 
amount  we  should  pay  the  disabled  person.  If  necessary  we  can 
pay  all  the  $15  for  living  maintenance.  In  a  great  number  of  cases 
that  we  are  training  living  maintenance  is  not  quite  so  vital  as  might 
be  presumed,  living  maintenance  coming  from  the  State  rehabilita- 
tion agency.  Our  adjusters  plan  as  if  we  had  no  maintenance  fund. 
Everything  that  we  do  pay  out  for  maintenance  is,  of  course,  not 
matchable  from  Federal  funds,  and  as  we  want  every  cent  of  the 
Federal  fund,  we  try  to  limit  payments  to  actual  school  expenses, 
which  can  be  matched  from  Federal  funds.  The  result  is  we  told 
our  adjusters  we  do  not  want  a  cent  of  maintenance  that  can  be 
avoided.  As  a  result  of  that,  although  we  usually  have  an  average 
of  50  cases  receiving  regular  payments  for  rehabilitation  purposes, 
I  do  not  think  at  the  present  time  more  than  5  or  6  of  them  are 
receiving  maintenance  out  of  the  bureau's  appropriation.  At  the 
start  we  started  out  with  the  usual  idea.  We  did  pay  maintenance 
that  could  have  been  avoided.  We  did  not  have  a  highly  organized 
state  of  social  agencies,  as  in  Ohio.  Our  cooperation  with'  the  social 
agencies  in  Pennsylvania  is  individual.  Each  community  made  a 
complete  survey  of  every  agency  that  would  be  expected  to  give 
relief.  The  cases  come  to  us  in  an  amount  greater  than  we  can 
handle.  One  person  can  handle  more  cases  in  a  city  than  in  a  county. 
We  decided  what  we  wanted  to  do  for  getting  a  person  back  in 
employment.  As  a  result  we  worked  with  every  agency  and  our 
local  men  are  in  close  touch  with  every  agency,  such  as  workmen's 
compensation,  Red  Cross,  associated  aids'  in  every  community. 
We  use  every  type  of  agency  that  can  be  of  benefit,  fraternal  organi- 
zations and  the  like. 

In  some  cases  where  compensation  has  expired,  or  where  it  is  not 
favorable,  we  have  been  going  to  the  employer  saying  that  we  are 
limited  in  our  funds.  "  Don't  you  feel  you  would  like  to  contribute 
a  bit  toward  the  reeducation  of  this  man  for  suitable  employment?" 
We  do  not  go  to  the  employer  until  we  have  something  definite  in 
mind.  If  intensive  work  is  done  in  combing  every  community  you  will 
not  find  maintenance  so  vital.  We  do  not  have  to  spend  a  great  deal 
of  money  for  maintenance.  Workmen's  compensation  is  not  a  com- 
plete relief.  Almost  half  of  our  cases  that  were  industrial  accidents 
were  reported  after  our  law  was  enacted.  They  were  injured  before 
1919.  The  compensation  for  a  permanent  disability  runs  usually 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  113 

over  a  period  of  three  to  four  years,  and  many  of  our  cases  have  been 
paid  all  the  compensation  to  which  the  law  entitled  them.  I  really 
believe  that  if  an  intensive  effort  is  made  to  uncover  any  available 
funds  and  to  see  the  actual  living  conditions,  living  maintenance  is 
not  so  vital.  I  always  ask,  How  is  the  man  living  now — what  is  his 
main  subsistence  ?  If  the  man  is  living  now,  why  is  it  necessary  to 
subsidize  him  further  for  maintenance  ?  I  admit  that  there  are  many 
cases  that  must  have  maintenance,  but  I  always  start  out  asking,  Is 
this  man  starving  to  death?  We  have  a  definite  questionnaire  for 
the  purpose.  When  an  adjuster  recommends  school  training,  he 
decides  what  is  the  present  financial  status  of  the  family. 

Miss  DAVIS.  I  do  think  it  takes  a  lot  of  time  to  enlist  agencies  in 
the  initial  stage  of  the  work.  We  must  have  some  sort  of  maintenance. 
We  spend  three  or  four  days  chasing  around  looking  for  means  for 
maintaining  a  disabled  person  while  in  training.  I  think  we  should 
suffer  if  we  had  a  high  maintenance,  because  I  think  we  should  not 
want  to  give  it  to  everybody.  We  spend  a  lot  of  tune  combing  the 
territory,  and  we  can  not  rely  on  agencies,  because  the  social  agencies 
are  so  busy.  I  think  if  we  had  a  small  sum  of  money,  even  $12  as  a 
maximum,  lots  of  handicapped  people  who  are  not  taking  training 
because  of  their  lack  of  means  of  support  would  avail  themselves  of 
our  services,  and  our  chances  would  be  improved  to  do  a  better  job 
and  perhaps  take  care  of  the  family.  We  have  to  go  slow,  we  must 
have  some  sort  of  maintenance,  and  the  workmen's  compensation  is 
going  to  take  care  of  the  persons  injured  in  industry. 

Mr.  KRATZ.  This  afternoon  in  the  discussion  of  future  legislation 
the  matter  of  maintenance  will  be  taken  up.  Of  course,  we  know 
that  in  the  State  of  Missouri  they  do  not  have  an  operating  compen- 
sation law,  hence  all  the  persons  who  come  to  the  State  department 
might  be  considered  in  the  otherwise  group.  I  was  wondering 
whether  Mr.  Hubbard  wanted  to  say  something.  They  do  not  have 
any  maintenance  fund  in  Mississippi,  and  I  am  sure  they  met  this 
situation. 

Mr.  HUBBARD.  Our  experience  so  far  has  been  that  we  have  had  a 
very  limited  number  of  cases  where  maintenance  was  absolutely 
necessary.  In  practically  all  of  those  cases  we  have  been  able  to 
meet  the  situation.  We  have  received  funds  from  private  individuals 
and  Rotary  clubs,  and  different  kinds  of  organizations  have  made 
loans.  In  no  case  have  we  asked  them  to  give  the  money  outright. 
They  give  a  note,  and  it  is  understood,  of  course,  that  the  organization 
that  is  lending  the  money  has  no  collateral  to  back  up  such  a  note. 
That  is  the  way  we  have  handled  it,  and  we  do  not  consider  it  a  very 
serious  problem. 

14765—22 8 


114  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

Mr.  STANTON.  We  have  a  very  small  fund  in  North  Carolina, 
$5,000.  We  have  no  workmen's  compensation,  and  even  if  we  had 
it  would  not  help  because  a  large  percentage  would  not  be  receiving 
maintenance,  because  disabled  in  public  accident,  from  illness,  or 
by  congenital  disabilities.  We  are  trying  to  spare  that  fund  just 
as  far  as  it  is  possible.  In  some  cases  interested  parties  are  going  to 
pay  half  the  expenses,  and  in  a  number  of  cases  that  we  have  had 
the  employer  gave  them  sufficient  on  the  start  to  pay  their  expenses; 
but  I  agree  with  Miss  Davis  with  reference  to  the  time  and  the  effort 
which  is  required  to  obtain  that  fund.  We  have  so  many  services 
to  perform  that  I  do  not  believe  we  should  be  called  upon  to  solicit 
funds.  We  feel  that  it  aids  us  greatly,  the  small  fund  we  have. 

Mr.  JEWELL.  Does  it  operate  as  direct  weekly  payments  or  loan  ? 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  I  am  not  very  strong  on  the  loan  proposition. 

Mr.  STANTON.  Our  attitude  is  the  same  as  Pennsylvania.  We  do 
not  care  to  set  up  any  machinery  for  running  a  collection  agency, 
and  where  we  pay  maintenance  we  make  it  a  gift,  because  even 
when  you  get  a  man  back  on  a  paying  basis  it  is  a  long  time  before 
he  could  pay  anything  back. 


GENERAL  MEETING. 

MAY    17 2    P.  M. 


CHAIRMAN:    OSCAR   M.    SULLIVAN,    State    Department    of 
Education,  Director  of  Reeducation,  Minnesota. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  Before  we  have  the  first  of  the  papers,  I  am 
requested  to  announce  a  trip  to  the  David  Rankin  Trade  School  for 
those  who  can  stay  over  to-morrow.  We  will  meet  in  the  hotel 
Jobby  at  9  o'clock. 

The  first  speaker  of  the  afternoon  is  Mr.  White,  of  Tennessee. 

PROPOSED    INVESTIGATIONS    TO    BE    UNDERTAKEN   BY    THE 
FEDERAL  AND  STATE  BOARDS. 


ROBT.   H.   WHITE,    Director    of    Civilian   Rehabilitation, 
Tennessee. 


In  the  initial  stage  of  a  program  for  civilian  rehabilitation  our  alpha 
and  omega  should  be,  "Get  facts,  cold  facts,  cruel  facts,"  and  then 
disseminate  these  facts  to  the  public  without  saturating  them  with 
sentimentality  or  coloring  them  with  inaccurate  interpretations. 

From  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor  there  comes  a  recent 
report  that  within  a  period  of  12  months  3,000,000  American  workers 
were  injured  in  industrial  accidents  and  24,000  were  killed.  Of  the 
3,000,000  injured,  3,000  were  unable  to  resume  work,  600,000  were 
unable  to  work  for  more  than  a  month,  500,000  for  a  period  ranging 
from  2  to  4  weeks,  and  2,000,000  from  1  to  14  days,  while  up- 
ward of  63,000  sustained  permanent  disabilities,  such  as  the  loss 
of  a  leg,  an  eye,  a  hand,  or  an  arm.  Undoubtedly  the  economic 
wastage  thus  involved  would  run  far  into  millions  of  dollars  if  it 
could  be  computed,  and  social  liabilities  are  evidently  tremendous; 
the  cost  to  individuals  and  families  in  human  suffering  and  grief  is 
bey  and  calculation.  Add  the  tragic  toll  of  24,000  killed — 80  men 
for  each  working-day  of  the  year,  10  for  every  hour  of  the  standard 
working-day.  These  authentic  facts  are  sufficient  to  impress  the 
citizenship  of  the  country  with  the  importance  and  necessity  of  formu- 
lating a  salvaging  program  that  will  reclaim  and  restore  to  gainful 
occupations  as  much  of  this  human  wreckage  as  is  possible.  With 
this  official  report  as  a  basis,  each  State  can  make  an  approximate 

115 


116  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

• 

estimate  as  to  the  probable  number  of  disabled  citizens  in  its  own 
confines. 

For  the  sake  of  clarity  and  brevity,  proposed  investigations  to  be 
undertaken  by  the  Federal  and  State  boards  are  listed  under  three 
divisions,  as  follows: 

I.  Statistical  investigations. 
II.  Vocational  investigations. 
III.  Related  problems  for  investigations. 

I.    STATISTICAL   INVESTIGATIONS. 

a.  County  survey  of  disabled  persons: 

It  may  be  assumed  that  the  citizenry  in  each  State  will  desire 
and,  perhaps,  demand  to  know  whether  there  is  any  real  need  within 
that  particular  State  for  the  establishment  and  promotion  of  a  pro- 
gram dealing  with  the  rehabilitation  of  disabled  citizens.  More 
convincing  than  oratorical  effusions  or  frenzied  rhetoric  will  be  facts 
as  to  the  number  of  disabled  persons  in  the  State  as  obtained  from  a 
disability  survey  of  the  State.  The  securing  of  such  a  survey  in- 
volves both  time  and  continuous  effort.  Two  methods  of  securing 
this  survey  have  occurred  to  me.  First,  acquaint  representative 
citizens  and  all  important  organizations  in  each  county  with  the 
purpose  and  program  of  civilian  rehabilitation.  After  this  prelimi- 
nary work  has  been  done,  let  each  county  or  city  select  personnel  for 
a  permanent  rehabilitation  committee,  whose  duty  and  privilege  will 
be  to  obtain  a  county  or  city  survey  of  all  seriously  injured  civilians. 
Such  an  enumeration  will,  of  course,  not  be  absolutely  accurate,  but 
it  will  give  a  somewhat  definite  and  approximate  idea  as  to  the 
number  of  disabled  persons  in  the  county  or  city.  Furthermore, 
this  method  secures  splendid  publicity  for  the  work.  A  second 
method  of  securing  the  disability  survey  is  to  select  three  or  four 
type  counties,  one  of  which  may  be  agricultural,  another  industrial, 
and  another  mining.  Go  into  these  type  counties  and  personally 
direct  the  disability  survey. 

From  the  data  thus  obtained,  an  approximate  estimate  can  be 
made  as  to  the  probable  number  of  disabled  persons  in  the  State. 
From  one  type  county  in  an  agricultural  section  of  middle  Tennessee, 
a  survey  was  made,  conducted  largely  by  the  public-school  teachers, 
the  Red  Cross,  the  county  physicians,  and  publicity  in  the  local  press. 
Guided  by  both  oral  and  written  instructions  from  the  director  and 
supplied  with  prepared  blanks  for  recording  a  limited  amount  of 
necessary  data,  the  cooperative  agencies  in  this  county  reported  the 
names  of  89  persons  as  being  disabled.  Thirty-one  of  these  disabled 
persons  appeared  to  have  disabilities  of  a  minor  nature  and,  for  that 
reason,  their  cases  were  not  at  the  time  investigated  further.  A  letter 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  117 

explaining  essential  facts  of  the  civilian  rehabilitation  work  was  sent 
to  the  remaining  persons,  a  number  of  whom  made  reply.  It  should 
be  said  that  in  the  main  only  physical  disabilities  of  a  visible  nature 
were  recorded,  it  not  being  feasible  to  have  examined  by  physicians 
those  persons  with  latent  disabilities,  such  as  lung,  heart,  and  other 
internal  involvements.  As  fast  as  it  is  humanly  possible,  other  coun- 
ties will  be  surveyed,  though  local  conditions  in  some  of  the  counties 
will  perhaps  make  necessary  a  different  method  for  obtaining  the 
survey. 

b.  Job  changing  as  result  of  industrial  accidents  and  occupational 

disease : 

Whenever  an  injured  person  is  compelled  to  change  jobs  due  to  an 
accident  or  disease,  there  is  of  course  a  resultant  economic  loss.  He 
who  was  a  skilled  workman  prior  to  his  impairment  becomes,  on 
account  of  his  vocational  handicap,  an  apprentice  or  a  mere  novice 
on  the  new  job.  With  his  occupational  skill  gone  to  waste  because 
of  his  physical  injury,  and  with  no  adequate  supervision  during  his 
blind  alley  period  of  occupational  readjustment,  a  loss  in  wages  and 
%  shrinkage  in  economic  productivity  inevitably  follow.  To  ascer- 
tain the  approximate  economic  loss  due  to  this  imperative  changing 
Df  jobs  is  probably  an  impossible  task.  Certainly  an  accurate  survey 
of  this  matter  could  not  be  obtained  without  large  expenditures  of 
time  and  money.  It  is  possible  and  might  be  advisable  to  select 
certain  type  counties  which  could  be  closely  surveyed  over  a  past 
five  or  ten  year  period,  and  for  which  an  approximate  estimate  could 
be  made  as  to  economic  loss  involved  from  job  changing.  Unques- 
tionably a  few  specific  type  cases  could  be  found  and  used  to  advan- 
tage in  convincing  the  public  of  this  economic  loss,  and  thereby  more 
readily  public  support  and  cooperation  in  the  promotion  of  civilian 
rehabilitation  could  be  won. 

c.  Frequency  of  second-injury  accidents: 

If  the  adage,  "a  burnt  child  dreads  the  fire,"  has  any  application 
as  to  the  recurrence  of  industrial  accidents,  undoubtedly  an  injured 
person  is  more  careful  than  one  who  has  never  met  with  physical 
injury.  From  the  meager  data  available,  it  appears  that  second- 
injury  accidents  are  very  rare,  amounting  almost  to  a  negligible 
quantity.  If  such  data  could  be  obtained  and  then  presented  to  the 
employers  of  labor,  it  might  soften  the  callous  attitude  sometimes 
displayed  by  employment  managers  toward  the  employment  of  dis- 
abled persons.  Accurate  statistics  on  this  question  would,  in  my 
judgment,  overthrow  the  usual  alibi,  "Our  compensation  laws  are 
very  strict  and  we  can  not  afford  to  take  any  additional  risk  by 
employing  disabled  persons." 


118  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

i 

d.  Earning  power  of  rehabilitated  persons : 

As  soon  as  the  program  for  civilian  rehabilitation  has  been  suffi- 
ciently developed,  accurate  statistics  as  to  the  earning  power  of  the 
rehabilitated  persons,  from  a  pre  and  post  injury  standpoint  will  be 
in  all  probability  the  strongest  argument  for  the  promotion  of  this 
work.  Obviously,  all  diasbled  persons  will  be  either  self-supporting 
or  dependent  upon  others  for  support.  The  acid  test  to  which  re- 
habilitation training  will  be  subjected  is  whether  or  not  the  injured 
person  has  been  retrained  for  and  placed  in  successful  employment. 
Actual  figures  on  pre  and  post  injury  wages  will  be  available  in  prac- 
tically every  rehabilitated  case.  Such  figures,  however,  may  be  mis- 
interpreted and  thereby  prove  to  be  misleading.  It  would  not  be 
fair  to  select  the  high  mark  of  wage  received  prior  to  injury,  and  then 
compare  to  that  wage  an  imperatively  reduced  wage  after  rehabilita- 
tion training  had  been  completed.  It  would  appear  to  be  a  fair  propo- 
sition to  take  as  a  basis  for  wage  computation  the  actual  earning  status 
of  the  disabled  person  at  the  time  he  was  inducted  into  rehabilitation 
training,  rather  than  to  accept  as  his  earning  capacity  the  highest 
wage  ever  received  by  him  prior  to  injury.  It  happens  frequently 
that  disabled  persons  with  relatively  high  wage  capacity  have  re- 
ceived little  or  no  wage  after  the  injury. 

H.    VOCATIONAL   INVESTIGATIONS. 

a.  Occupational  census  of  the  State : 

The  importance  of  knowing  what  particular  occupations  are 
available  in  the  State  is  evident.  Surely  no  training  course  should 
be  approved  unless  such  a  course  leads  to  definite  employment. 
If  the  trainee  is  reasonably  sure  as  to  his  future  abode,  it  would  not 
be  a  difficult  matter  to  determine  with  him  the  most  feasible  and 
available  occupations  to  be  found  in  or  near  his  home  community. 
All  other  matters  being  equal,  it  is  a  policy  of  mine  to  attempt  to 
train  the  person  for  some  occupation  that  can  be  found  in  or  near  his 
home  community.  In  my  judgment,  nothing  would  be  so  productive 
of  confusion,  dissatisfaction,  and  ultimate  loss  of  both  time  and  money 
as  to  lend  any  encouragement  to  a  training  program  that  would  put 
a  premium  upon  ill-founded  and  ofttimes  aimless  migration.  The 
average  American  person  is  already  a  migratory  bird,  and  it  is  not 
in  the  interest  of  the  individual  or  of  society  that  he  should  be 
encouraged  to  play  the  role  of  an  industrial  gypsy.  To  prepare  a 
disabled  person  to  accept  specific  employment  in  some  well-defined 
geographical  location,  making  possible  thereby  a  stable  citizen, 
ought  to  be  a  rather  positive  policy  on  the  part  of  the  rehabilitation 
officials. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  119 

&.  Suitable  occupations  for  widely  prevailing  types  of  major-injury 

cases : 

A  classification  of  occupations  which  have  been  demonstrated  as 
feasible  for  specific  types  of  major-injury  cases  will  be  helpful  in 
determining  what  occupations  are  generally  followed  by  disabled 
persons  with  certain  recognized  disabilities.  For  example,  it  would 
be  interesting  to  any  State  to  know  what  particular  jobs  are  being 
held  down  by  that  portion  of  its  citizens  who  have  sustained  the  loss 
of  a  right  hand  or  right  arm.  Such  data  as  might  be  obtained  from 
this  investigation  would  be  perhaps  of  most  benefit  along  the  lines  of 
vocational  advisement.  Of  course,  the  occupations  that  are  most 
generally  followed  by  one-armed  men  in  one  State  will  differ,  in  many 
cases,  from  the  occupation  followed  by  one-armed  men  in  many  other 
States.  Such  a  difference,  however,  is  accounted  for  largely  by 
industrial  and  geographical  conditions. 

c.  Special  problems  in  the  rehabilitation  of  the  blind: 

In  all  probability  the  actual  rehabilitation  of  the  blind  will  prove  to 
be  the  most  difficult  of  all  types  of  disabled  persons  coming  before 
rehabilitation  officials  for  solution.  Thus  far,  very  little  has  been  done 
in  regard  to  making  any  special  investigations  as  to  what  occupations 
are  most  feasible  for  the  blind.  The  usual  type  of  vocational  train- 
ing offered  the  blind  is  of  a  purely  manipulative  nature,  such  as  broom 
making,  chair  caning,  rug  weaving,  etc.  Industry  is  nowadays  of  a 
highly  specialized  nature,  which  faot  ought  to  make  it  easier  to  ren- 
der the  blind  employable  in  industrial  establishments.  Here  again, 
the  attitude  of  the  employer  will  need  to  be  changed  if  any  real  con- 
sideration is  given  to  the  problem  of  securing  adequate  employment 
for  the  blind.  With  reference  to  the  rehabilitation  of,  the  blind,  it 
is  my  belief  that  the  Federal  board  and  all  State  boards  should  pool 
their  information  so  as  to  place  before  all  rehabilitation  officials  eveen. 
possible  bit  of  information  that  will  help  solve  this  question.  In  my 
own  State,  the  training  of  the  blind  in  the  past  has  received  but  scant 
attention.  For  the  past  six  months,  however,  the  Tennessee  Com- 
mission for  the  Blind  has  been  working  in  close  cooperation  with  the 
Department  of  Industrial  Rehabilitation.  Three  blind  teachers  were 
secured  and  have  been  stationed  temporarily  in  three  of  the  largest 
cities  in  the  State,  where  they  are  going  into  the  homes  of  the  blind 
and  encouraging  them  to  take  up  such  types  of  industrial  training  as 
are  practical.  Within  the  next  six  weeks  these  home  teachers  are 
going  into  some  of  the  rural  counties  and  do  extension  work  among 
the  blind.  As  of  date  72  blind  persons  are  now  in  rehabilitation 
training.  Several  of  these  blind  persons  are  now  earning  a  small 
wage  for  part-time  work.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  there  are  2,400 
adult  blind  persons  in  Tennessee,  serious  attention  will  be  given  to 


120  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

this  portion  of  disabled  citizens  with  a  view  of  doing  everything 
possible  to  alleviate  their  social,  mental,  and  economic  condition 
through  suitable,  available  (training. 

d.  Vocational  training  in  small  town  and  rural  districts : 

The  problem  of  civilian  rehabilitation  is  rendered  particularly  acute 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  small  town  and  rural  district  afford  little 
or  no  training  facilities.  In  a  great  number  of  cases,  disabled  persons 
residing  in  the  small  town  or  rural  district  are  unable,  for  financial 
or  other  reasons,  to  go  to  a  city  where  training  facilities  and  employ- 
ment opportunities  are  more  abundant.  The  disabled  landowner, 
with  little  or  no  education,  and  handicapped  by  some  serious  physical 
impairment,  presents  a  difficult  type  of  case;  the  disabled  tenant, 
with  little  or  no  education,  seriously  injured  and  with  no  fixed  social 
or  economic  status,  presents  a  case  that  is  extremely  difficult  to 
handle.  The  disabled,  handicapped  residents  of  agricultural  regions 
constitute  a  group  that  will  call  for  serious  study,  and  perhaps  pro- 
longed investigation,  before  an  adequate  rehabilitation  program  can 
be  devised.  There  are,  of  course,  some  possibilities  in  poultry  rais- 
ing, dairying,  stock  judging,  and  beekeeping,  but  lack  of  funds  and 
a  disinclination  to  take  up  any  highly  specialized  form  of  agriculture 
tend  to  complicate  the  problem  involved  in  the  rehabilitation  of 
unskilled,  uneducated  farmers. 

III.    RELATED    TOPICS    FOR   INVESTIGATION. 

a.  Mental  measurements : 

If  there  is  any  virtue — and  there  is — in  psychological  tests  to 
determine  the  mental  ability  and  fitness  of  an  able-bodied  person  for 
specific  vocations,  certainly  there  is  no  reason  for  not  applying  mental 
tests  to  persons  with  only  apparent  physical  disabilities  with  a  view 
of  determining  their  mental  fitness  for  feasible  occupations.  Mental 
measurements  have  been  given  with  success  to  large  groups  of  disabled 
soldiers.  On  the  whole,  disabled  soldiers  do  not  differ  materially 
from  disabled  civilians.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  if  mental  tests 
are  good  for  disabled  soldiers,  mental  tests  can  not  be  bad  for  disabled 
civilians.  The  importance  of  mental  measurements,  in  my  judgment, 
should  have  serious  attention  and  wide  application  in  dealing  with 
the  problem  of  rehabilitating  disabled  persons. 

b.  Physical  reconstruction,  an  aid  to  rehabilitation: 

On  the  whole,  first  attention  should  be  directed  toward  utilizing  all 
physical  reconstruction  possible  in  eliminating  the  vocational  handi- 
caps. This  is  a  matter,  however,  which  can  not  be  dealt  with  either 
successfully  or  humanely  by  laymen.  Expert  medical  and  therapeu- 
tic attention  should  be  given  by  competent  technically  trained 
persons. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  121 

c.  Social  and  mental  readjustment: 

During  convalescence  and  also  during  the  training  period  and  place- 
ment in  employment,  the  injured  person  is  likely  to  lose  morale  and 
drift  into  an  aimless  and  even  rebellious  state  of  mind,  which  often 
retards  physical  recovery  and  destroys  initiative  and  ambition.  It 
is  here  that  the  injured  person  needs  the  assurance  that  the  State  and 
societ}^  are  ready  to  render  assistance.  During  the  initial  period  of 
employment,  the  retrained  person  will  be  subject  to  discouragement 
and  will  need  the  sympathetic  but  sane  assistance  of  rehabilitation 
agents  and  employers.  Mental  and  social  readjustments  are  also 
imperative  in  many  cases.  To  a  person  who  has  been  accustomed  to 
receive  a  high  salary,  his  mental  and  social  relations  are  subject  to  a 
severe  test  when  he  finds  his  earning  capacity  reduced  to  perhaps 
one-half  of  his  former  income. 

d.  Maintenance  pay  for  disabled  persons  undergoing  training: 

A  civilian  rehabilitation  program  without  provision  for  mainte- 
nance of  disabled  persons  while  undergoing  rehabilitation  training 
will  delay  and  in  many  cases  defeat  the  intention  of  the  law  and  the 
purpose  of  the  social  program.  With  compensation  laws  that  cover 
certain,  but  limited,  cases  of  industrial  workers,  it  is  apparent  that 
the  large  army  of  injured  civilians  fall  beyond  the  pale  of  the  work- 
men's compensation  law.  There  are  varying  and  vexatious  excep- 
tions to  the  compensation  law,  which  alleviate  certain  interests 
from  financial  outlay,  but  which  leave  greater  interests  totally  un- 
provided for. 

To  cite  my  own  State  as  an  example,  Tennessee  exempts  from  the 
provisions  of  the  workmen's  compensation  law  all  agricultural  work- 
ers, domestic  servants,  those  engaged  in  interstate  traffic,  coal  miners, 
all  employees  of  State,  county,  and  municipalities,  as  well  as  employ- 
ees in  industrial  establishments  employing  less  than  10  persons  on  a 
full-time  basis.  An  employee  injured  on  a  farm,  in  a  country  saw- 
mill, or  a  small- town  ice  factory,  receives  no  compensation  from  the 
workmen's  compensation  act.  Furthermore,  that  larger  number  of 
disabled  persons — those  who  are  crippled  by  disease  or  congenital 
defects — are  without  compensation  of  any  sort.  As  a  rule,  the  fami- 
lies in  which  there  are  disabled  persons  are  generally  the  poorest 
families  in  the  State.  Their  resources  have  been  strained  to  the 
narrowest  margin  on  account  of  sickness,  hospital  confinement,  sur- 
geons' bills,  nurse  hire,  and  nonproductivity  of  the  injured  member. 
When  these  conditions  are  faced  squarely,  it  can  be  seen  readily  that 
the  payment  of  tuition  and  the  purchase  of  books  and  tools  mean 
comparatively  nothing  to  such  persons.  The  offer  of  the  State  and 
Government  to  provide  for  tuition,  books,  and  tools  is  about  the 
equivalent  of  saying,  "Here,  my  one-legged,  illiterate  farmer  boy? 
the  State,  your  National  Government,  and  society  as  a  whole  are 


122  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

interested  in  training  you  for  a  successful  vocation  in  order  that  you 
may  take  your  stand  as  a  useful  member  of  society.  For  each  dollar 
necessary  to  train  you  for  this  vocation,  you  put  up  90  cents  and  the 
responsive  National  and  State  Governments  will  generously  donate 
the  remaining  dime."  Thus  far,  the  cases  on  file  in  my  office  indi- 
cate that  only  1  out  of  20  with  whom  contact  has  been  made  are 
financially  able  to  pay  for  board  and  lodging  while  training  is  being 
given.  In  my  judgment,  however,  the  maintenance  of  disabled  per- 
sons in  rehabilitation  training  is  primarily  a  matter  that  should 
be  investigated  and  handled  by  each  State,  due  to  varying  condi- 
tions brought  about  by  the  racial,  color,  industrial,  and  economic 
conditions. 

Finally,  civilian  rehabilitation  is  an  epoch-making  advance  in 
social  legislation.  It  is  enacted  and  exists  for  the  benefit  of  indus- 
trial workers  disabled  in  the  nondramatic  struggle  for  daily  bread; 
it  is  not  something  to  be  put  over  on  the  people,  but  it  is  a  sane, 
practical  program  that  must  be  worked  out  by  intelligent  effort  and 
sympathetic  cooperation. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

Mr.  KRATZ.  The  Federal  Board  in  the  first  year  and  a  half  of  ad- 
ministering the  vocational  rehabilitation  act  has  had  many  duties. 
First  we  have  had  to  cooperate  with  the  States  in  passing  the  neces- 
sary acceptance  legislation.  After  a  State  had  accepted  our  act  it 
was  necessary  that  we  go  there  to  give  whatever  assistance  was 
needed  to  get  the  work  organized.  In  that  period  of  time  the  map  of 
the  United  States,  which  you  can  see  in  the  rear  of  this  hall,  has  been 
painted  largely  white,  and  I  make  no  idle  boast  when  I  say  that  by 
next  spring  a  number  of  those  blue  States  will  become  white.  In 
casting  about  as  to  how  the  industrial  rehabilitation  division  might  be 
of  most  help  to  the  States,  we  have  realized  that  after  getting  the 
work  started,  it  would  be  necessary  to  promote  and  stimulate  the 
making  of  research  or  investigations  into  the  philosophy  of  rehabili- 
tation and  into  methods  of  case  procedure,  realizing  always  that  we 
are  in  partnership  with  the  States.  We  did  not  attempt  to  begin 
any  study  without  first  consulting  the  States  for  their  experiences, 
that  we  might  better  find  out  what  they  thought  might  be  desirable 
along  lines  of  investigation.  You  all  recall  that  about  two  months 
ago  you  received  some  14  possible  suggestions  with  regard  to  possible 
lines  of  investigation,  with  the  request  that  a  vote,  so  to  speak,  be 
made,  selecting  at  least  five  of  the  studies  in  the  order  of  preference, 
so  we  might  receive  some  indications  as  to  what  you  wanted  us  to  do. 
We  listed  three  columns,  indicating  that  the  study  might  be  made 
by  the  Federal  Board,  the  State  board  for  vocational  education,  or 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  123 

by  both.  I  am  sure  that  you  are  anxious  to  know  the  results  of  that 
vote,  which  has  been  made  by  the  States.  I  want  to  explain  these 
sheets,  which  will  be  passed  out  a  little  later.  Each  State  voted  on 
five  studies  and  indicated  an  order  of  preference.  If,  for  instance, 
you  selected  as  first  choice  "  Scope  and  methods  of  work  of  organized 
social  agencies,"  we  weighted  that  five,  and  your  fifth  choice  was 
weighted  one.  We  should  like  again  to  submit  these  possible  lines 
of  investigation  to  you  before  you  get  away  for  a  revised  selection,  if 
you  so  desire.  It  might  be  that  in  view  of  the  discussion  and  in  view 
of  more  mature  experience  you  might  wish  to  change  your  preference. 

The  Federal  Board  wants  to  do  something.  We  think  we  should 
promote  some  investigation,  but  we  want  to  do  it  with  the  advice 
and  cooperation  of  you  folks  in  the  States.  With  the  permission  of 
the  chairman,  I  am  going  to  ask  Mr.  Clayton  and  Mr.  Cummings  to 
pass  out  these  sheets. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  In  promoting  our  work  and  in  getting  ready  for 
the  legislatures,  I  realize,  as  Mr.  White  said,  that  we  must  get  public 
opinion  back  of  this  matter.  In  Wisconsin  we  are  about  to  try  to 
reach  every  county  with  an  article  on  rehabilitation.  Would  it 
not  be  a  wise  thing  to  get  into  a  county  paper  and  get  a  good  write 
up  ?  In  that  way  you  will  cover  the  district  represented  in  the 
legislature.  I  am  in  favor  of  something  of  that  kind. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  Mr.  Kratz  will  touch  on  that. 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  I  do  not  want  to  emphasize  the  choice  in  regard  to 
the  blind.  There  are  certain  lines  of  demarcation  regarding  the 
blind.  In  New  York  State  they  have  a  commission  for  the  blind 
which  gets  more  than  the  bureau  of  rehabilitation.  The  idea  is  to 
get  the  blind  back  into  productive  industry,  but  at  any  rate  it  can 
do  everything  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  blind.  New  Jersey 
operates  under  virtually  the  same  condition.  In  Pennsylvania  we 
have  drawn  no  such  lines.  Pennsylvania  has  two  schools  for  blind 
children.  One  institution  provides  traveling  instructors.  There  is 
a  Pennsylvania  Association  for  the  Blind  which  maintains  schools 
with  workshops  in  three  or  four  communities — Wilkes-Barre,  Pitts- 
burgh, and  Philadelphia.  In  all,  our  State  appropriated  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  blind  $350,000  to  $400,000.  It  appropriated  for 
rehabilitation  generally  $100,000.  I  have  entire  sympathy  with  the 
work  for  the  blind,  but  I  would  like  to  see  definite  lines  set  up.  Our 
agency  in  Pennsylvania  is  the  only  State  agency  which  is  definitely 
working  for  the  benefit  of  persons  suffering  from  disabling  injuries. 

There  are  other  agencies  with  even  more  State  funds  available 
working  for  the  blind.  In  our  first  year  we  spent  $4,000  definite 
living  maintenance  for  the  blind.  We  even  now  are  maintaining 
three  or  four  institutions  where  they  will  be  trained.  In  addition 
to  what  we  spend  on  blind  cases  the  $400,000,  mentioned  before, 


124  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

goes  for  the  blind.  Our  $100,000  appropriated  for  rehabilitation 
purposes  goes  for  the  benefit  of  all  handicapped  persons.  If  we 
attempt  to  use  $50,000  per  year  for  the  blind,  we  will  find  that  we 
may  be  charged  with  discriminating  against  the  other  types  of  disabled 
persons.  Were  we  to  start  out  on  an  intensive  program  for  the  blind 
we  would  have  very  little  to  expend  for  the  other  types  of  disabled 
persons.  I  would  like  to  see  some  sort  of  a  demarkation,  or  some- 
thing. I  would  like  to  hear  from  some  other  States  in  this  connection. 
We  have  gone  the  limit,  but  we  do  not  know  how  to  turn  down 
blind  cases.  They  are  always  well  represented  by  their  organiza- 
tions, w^ith  whom  we  are  in  entire  sympathy,  but  it  is  merely  a  matter 
of  State  administration.  What  is  the  trend  along  this  line,  particu- 
larly in  view  of  the  fact  that  that  is  the  first  choice  ?  I  have  laid  the 
cards  on  the  table  for  Pennsylvania.  They  are  not  criticizing  us  in 
Pennsylvania.  Here  is  the  money;  what  can  we  do?  There  is  a 
chance  of  considerable  criticism  along  that  line.  There  are  no 
organized  agencies  of  state-wide  scope  supporting  the  interests  of 
other  handicapped  persons,  but  there  are  for  the  blind  persons. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  You  have  raised  a  very  interesting  question. 
The  principle  could  be  applied  that  where  there  is  any  other  State 
agency  equipped  to  handle  it,  the  State  rehabilitation  agency  would 
be  entirely  justified  in  keeping  out.  It  illustrates  how  the  conditions 
vary  from  State  to  State,  how  hard  it  is  to  draw  any  lines,  because 
conditions  will  vary  in  each  State.  In  Minnesota  there  is  not  as 
much  done  for  them  in  the  State,  and  we  hope  to  get  that  problem 
further  along  toward  a  solution  by  our  efforts  and  get  it  correlated 
with  our  work.  Just  to  broaden  your  question  a  little,  you  have 
not  only  that  problem  where  there  is  no  other  State  agency,  but  also 
where  the  class  may  be  a  legitimate  class.  You  could  devote  all 
your  time  to  that  group.  By  the  second  or  third  year,  when  your 
work  is  developed,  there  will  be  a  tremendous  number  of  applications 
or  lists,  and  you  have  got  to  begin  to  exercise  choice,  and  every  State 
will  have  to  set  up  standards,  especially  of  these  possible  groups 
which  are  almost  infinite  in  number. 

Mr.  GRANT.  I  think  the  Iowa  situation  is  just  exactly  opposite. 
There  is  no  aid  to  the  blind  at  all  in  Iowa,  excepting  the  State  law 
providing  that  the  local  poor  funds  can  be  drawn  on.  There  is  no 
organization  that  is  state- wide  that  is  providing  adult  blind  welfare. 
There  is  no  consolidated  movement.  I  am  trying  to  fashion  some- 
thing of  that  sort.  We  are  facing  a  time  where  there  will  be  some  leg- 
islation. The  blind  is  decidedly  my  first  choice  because  it  would  be 
a  great  aid  to  me  in  my  work  if  I  knew  all  the  conditions  in  my  State. 

Mr.  SHAW.  We  have  an  Ohio  Commission  for  the  Blind.  We  take 
no  case  for  training.  We  consider  no  case  for  training  until  that 
case  has  been  referred  to  us  by  the  Ohio  Commission  for  the  Blind; 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  125 

thereafter  we  attempt  to  do  what  we  can.  We  could  spend  every 
penny  of  our  money  in  dealing  with  the  blind  alone.  This  is  one 
reason  why  we  have  had  the  commission  go  as  far  as  they  could- 
We  have  considered  perhaps  15  cases. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  I  should  not  have  said  we  could  spend  all 
of  our  money  on  the  training  of  the  blind.  The  choice  of  vocations 
for  the  blind  is  a  pretty  difficult  thing  and  it  takes  quite  a  time  work- 
ing out  a  training  program. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  We  have  practically  the  same  working  arrangement 
that  Ohio  has,  because  they  have  no  training,  and  of  course  in  the 
cases  they  refer  to  us  they  take  responsibility  for  maintenance. 
They  have  a  fund  of  $25,000  for  doing  the  work  for  the  blind  in 
Wisconsin.  • 

Mr.  STANTON.  We  are  very  much  interested  in  the  study  of  the 
problem  for  the  blind.  We  have  no  organization  in  North  Carolina 
for  assisting  the  blind  over  the  age  of  21.  Furthermore,  we  find  that 
a  large  number  of  people  who  have  graduated  are  not  self-supporting. 
We  have  had  an  undue  number,  out  of  proportion,  reported  to  us, 
and  we  have  made  some  simple  effort  to  help  them. 

Mr.  ROCKEY.  I  am  very  much  interested  in  this  question  of  the 
blind.  We  have  that  problem  in  New  Mexico.  One  thing  the  Federal 
board  could  do  to  help  us  would  be  to  discover  those  things  that  a 
rehabilitated  person  turns  to  that  are  a  success  in  one  State  and  a 
failure  in  another.  Mr.  Riddle  spoke  of  broom  making  as  in  com- 
petition with  the  machine-made  brooms.  In  one  place  they  tell  you 
that  basketry  is  a  success,  in  another  weaving.  I  would  like  to  have 
it  gotten  down  into  a  businesslike  analysis,  not  just  broad  general 
statistics. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  You  could  market  that  stuff  as  genuine 
Indian  work. 

Mr.  JOB.  I  believe  the  situation  in  Indiana  as  to  relief  to  the 
blind  is  neglected  in  a  way.  In  those  cases  in  which  we  have  under- 
taken a  definite  vocational  training  program,  there  has  been  cooper- 
ation with  the  State  board  for  industrial  aid  for  the  blind.  I  should 
not  be  at  all  surprised  that  the  blind  people  think  the  board  is  doing 
it  all.  There  seems  to  be  some  sort  of  an  underground  communi- 
cation, and  if  one  blind  person  gets  something  they  all  know  it. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  You  won't  get  the  credit  of  the  expenditure 
of  funds. 

Mr.  JOB.  The  State  school  for  the  blind  under  age  has  been  suc- 
cessful, but  I  think  it  is  somewhat  open  to  criticism.  A  decided 
effort  has  been  made  to  make  every  blind  person  a  musician.  The 
result  is  we  find  them  out  in  pairs  and  quartets  on  the  street,  collect- 
ing their  daily  wage.  This  is  somewhat  a  side  issue,  but  it  is  a  thing 
which  we  shall  have  to  do  some  time.  About  the  registration  of  the 


126  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

blind  in  Tennessee:  Our  registration  is  somewhat  larger  than  in 
Tennessee.  More  than  50  per  cent  are  men  and  women  way  beyond 
the  age  of  rehabilitation  and,  therefore,  present  no  problem  to  the 
rehabilitation  division.  A  very  large  percentage  of  the  remainder 
are  below  the  age  of  employability  and  for  the  present  are  not  prob- 
lems for  our  division.  I  took  occasion  last  year  to  look  over  the 
registration  of  blind  persons  and  I  found  a  very  small  percentage — 
I  would  say  not  more  than  2  per  cent  of  the  cases  in  Indiana  that  I 
should  consider  as  fit  subjects  for  rehabilitation.  It  seems  to  me 
that  we  can  easily  become  alarmed.  I  am  surprised  that  special 
problems  connected  with  the  blind  received  first  rank.  I  think 
there  are  a  lot  of  problems  more  important.  In  Indiana  the  last 
legislature  appropriated  $100,000  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a 
building  for  the  trade  training  of  blind  persons.  After  the  building 
is  completed,  I  think  I  shall  ask  a  ruling  of  the  State  board  to  elimi- 
nate all  cases.  The  blind  people  have  received  more  consideration 
than  has  any  other  group.  There  are  several  reasons  for  it.  I  am 
in  complete  sympathy  with  the  blind,  and  I  agree  with  Mr.  Riddle 
about  this  situation  for  the  blind,  and  I  should  regret  to  see  a  study 
made  if  we  could  make  only  one  study. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  Massachusetts  was  a  pioneer  in  the  study  of  the  care 
of  the  blind.  The  director  of  the  commission  of  the  blind  in  Massa- 
chusetts told  me  their  appropriation  for  maintenance  was  $90,000  and 
he  asked  for  $100,000,  for  training  and  the  like;  it  is  quite  a  consid- 
erable amount.  Shortly  after  our  work  was  organized  the  blind 
people  came  to  receive  what  additional  help  they  might  receive.  I 
went  to  the  commission  for  the  blind  and  arranged  a  kind  of  contract 
in  which  I  said  if  any  blind  person  came  to  me  I  would  refer  him  to 
the  commission  for  the  blind,  and  if  they  were  willing  to  recommend 
any  kind  of  training  I  would  be  very  glad  to  give  it.  We  have  had 
so  far  only  one  person.  Man  wanted  to  take  the  bar  examination. 
The  division  had  no  money  to  take  care  of  him.  A  reader  for  this 
man  was  needed.  I  furnished  him  the  reader.  We  are  doing  it  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  commissioner  for  the  blind,  but  are  to 
supervise  the  work.  I  think  in  those  States  the  work  should  be  on 
some  such  basis  as  that. 

Mr.  JOB.  I  think  there  is  very  great  danger  of  letting  the  commis- 
sion for  the  blind  get  advantage  of  us.  This  thing  of  taking  up  a 
recommendation  for  the  blind  person  does  not  appeal  to  me  at  all 
for  the  reason  that  I  could  spend  all  my  time  following  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  board.  They  are  just  that  willing  that  I  supple- 
ment their  work.  That  may  not  be  true  in  other  States. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  Special  conditions  are  not  especially  illu- 
minating. The  reason  it  was  voted  for  was  that  that  was  the  domi- 
nant problem  not  adequately  cared  for.  These  States  are  exceptional. 


VOCATIONAL,  REHABILITATION.  127 

It  is  perfectly  true  that  you  could  be  swamped  with  the  blind,  not 
because  they  are  blind  but  because  of  a  number  of  other  things. 
The  rehabilitation  agency  will  always  have  a  definite  obligation 
because  of  men  blinded  in  industry.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  rehabili- 
tation agency  will  have  a  mission  and  duty  to  perform  and  something 
that  ought  to  be  performed  quickly  before  the  man  gets  into  the 
condition  of  the  other  blind. 

Mr.  KRATZ.  The  difficulties  of  the  blind  will  always  be  a  problem. 
Work  for  the  blind  has  been  an  organized  effort  under  State  auspices 
for  many  years.  We  are  interested  in  this  connection  solely  in  the 
vocational  rehabilitation  of  the  blind.  The  work  of  a  commission 
for  the  blind  is  considerably  more  comprehensive  and  will  always 
continue  to  be,  because  the  blind  make  a  special  appeal.  May  I  say, 
however,  that  we  are  discussing  two  things,  first,  the  matter  of  making 
investigations  that  will  help  us  and  certain  kinds  of  legislation. 
Both  have  been  adequately  covered.  The  reason  I  think  that  most 
of  the  States  voted  for  this  topic  was  that  when  they  were  faced 
with  the  vocational  rehabilitation  of  blind  persons  they  were  at  a 
loss  to  know  in  what  kinds  of  vocations  blind  people  can  best  carry 
on.  Mr.  Sullivan  is  making  just  such  an  investigation  in  his  State. 
As  I  understand  it,  blind  persons  are  going  into  the  industries  and 
experimenting  in  performing  tasks  and  they  are  thereby  developing 
job  opportunities. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  I  think  that  Mr.  Kratz  has  touched  upon 
the  point.  I  agree  with  Mr.  Job  that  the  agency  that  wants  to  be  on 
top  is  the  rehabilitation  agency.  We  felt  that  the  problem  had 
always  been  approached  in  a  traditional  way,  so  we  hired  a  blind 
young  man  who  is  not  exceptional.  He  tries  out  different  industries 
in  the  State.  He  picks  out  certain  processes  for  the  blind  men  to 
try.  In  the  course  of  that  undertaking  we  have  found  a  certain 
number  of  processes,  ten  or  more,  giving  openings.  We  will  find  more. 
It  is  hard  to  make  such  a  study.  We  investigated  in  Minneapolis 
and  St.  Paul.  We  took  this  blind  demonstrator  first  to  discover  the 
the  jobs  and  also  to  convince  these  particular  employers  that  blind 
men  can  do  the  work.  Then  we  have  to  find  the  blind  men  to  place 
in  those  plants. 

Mr.  SPITZ.  I  would  like  to  say  that  we  can  not  handle  the  blind  of 
New  Jersey  because  the  law  specially  provides  otherwise.  We  have 
a  State  commission.  The  census  is  about  the  last  thing  we  would  want 
to  do.  We  are  just  a  little  fearful  of  raising  a  hope  that  we  can  not 
meet.  This  entire  program  ought  to  receive  the  consideration  of  the 
individual  States  in  the  order  that  they  express  the  preference. 
What  applies  to  Oklahoma  might  not  apply  to  Pennsylvania.  My 
suggestion  is  rather  than  making  a  hard  and  fast  ruling  the  States  be 
allowed  to  take  those  subjects  which  are  most  necessary  in  their  State. 


128  VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

MJ-.  RIDDLE.  I  agree  with  Mr.  Spitz,  especially  with  regard  to  the 
danger  of  duplication.  I  am  thinking  of  surveys  made  in  connection 
with  the  Federal  board  for  disabled  veterans.  They  have  made 
numbers  of  surveys  of  such  things  which  might  be  of  assistance. 

Mr.  KRATZ.  I  have  some  blanks  here.  If  anyone  wants  to  revise 
his  vote  he  may  do  so  by  getting  one  of  these  sheets. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  You  are  all  acquainted  with  the  next  speaker 
on  the  program,  Mr.  John  A.  Kratz,  chief,  division  of  industrial  re- 
habilitation, Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education,  who  will  speak 
now  on  the  subject,  "  Problems  of  future  legislation." 

PROBLEMS  OF  FUTURE  LEGISLATION. 

JOHN  A.  KRATZ,  Chief,  Division  of  Industrial  Rehabilita- 
tion, Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education. 

The  problems  for  future  legislation  naturally  divide  themselves 
into  two  groups,  first,  those  in  connection  with  the  Federal  legisla- 
tion, and  second,  those  dealing  with  State  legislation.  The  Federal 
rehabilitation  act  has  been  in  operation  for  a  year  and  a  half  and  the 
experience  of  the  Federal  Board  in  administering  it  indicates  that 
it  is  on  the  whole  a  good  law.  It  is  general  enough  to  make  its  ad- 
ministration easy  and  to  avoid  the  many  difficulties  which  usually 
beset  those  who  carry  out  such  laws.  The  definitions  given  in  the 
act  for  " disabled  persons"  and  "rehabilitation"  could  not,  in  our 
judgment,  be  improved  upon.  Were  I  charged  with  the  respon- 
sibility of  revising  this  act  at  the  present  time,  I  should  find  that 
in  very  few  instances  would  I  be  inclined  to  make  any  changes. 
Such  changes  as  I  feel  should  be  made  will  be  taken  up  by  me  a 
little  later.  In  analyzing  the  problems  of  future  legislation,  I  might 
say,  first  of  all,  that  it  will  not  be  very  long  before  we  shall  be  very 
vitally  concerned  with  reenactment  of  the  Federal  law.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  a  considerably  longer  time  than  four  years  will  be  re- 
quired to  establish  the  work  of  vocational  rehabilitation  throughout 
the  Nation,  but  I  would  only  take  your  time  were  I  to  discuss  with 
such  a  sympathetic  audience  as  this  the  reasons  for  a  continuance 
of  the  Federal  legislation.  In  this  connection,  of  course,  I  think 
we  are  all  agreed  that  allotments  to  the  States  should  be  consider- 
ably increased. 

There  are  certain  provisions  of  our  act  which  need  clarification, 
such  as,  for  instance,  the  purpose  for  which  Federal  funds  may  be 
expended.  Another  indefinite  provision  refers  to  the  conditions 
under  which  Federal  funds  may  be  used  for  the  training  of  disabled 
persons  in  institutions  for  the  handicapped. 

One  point  that  I  should  like  to  stress  is  that  of  the  place  of  the 
administration  of  the  act  in  the  States.  At  this  time  we  might  be 
inclined  to  say  that  the  way  would  be  easier  for  us  if  we  were  per- 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  129 

mitted  to  cooperate  with  other  State  departments,  such  as  labor  and 
compensation,  which  departments  in  some  States  are  carrying  on 
the  work  of  rehabilitation.  This  is  a  matter  of  considerable  ques- 
tion, however,  and  will  be  worked  out  in  due  time. 

With  regard  to  legislation  both  Federal  and  State,  we  are  planning 
to  have  come  to  Washington  next  October  a  group  of  representative 
men  and  women  who  are  qualified  to  sit  on  a  committee  to  discuss 
this  very  matter.  We  have  in  mind  persons  who  have  had  consider- 
able experience  with  social  legislation.  We  expect  to  call  in  State 
rehabilitation  persons  and  to  make  the  committee  as  representative 
as  possible,  and  to  have  developed  at  these  sessions  such  drafts  of 
proposed  legislation  as  would  be  open  to  the  least  possible  criticism 
by  State  and  Federal  legislators.  It  is  needless  for  me  to  say  that 
the  finding  of  this  committee  will  be  reported  to  you. 

In  connection  with  your  own  State  legislation,  may  I  say  that  as 
there  seems  to  be  a  growing  tendency  in  the  country  to  standardize 
laws,  it  would  be  well  for  you  to  know  what  other  States  are  doing 
in  the  fields  of  rehabilitation  and  compensation,  in  order  that  you 
might  be  in  a  position  to  suggest  to  your  own  legislators  any  revisions 
of  your  laws,  which  you  might  believe  wise.  We  are  now  making 
a  digest  of  State  laws  and  will  be  in  a  position  later  to  submit  the 
results  to  you.  These  will  be  helpful  in  acquainting  you  with  what 
other  States  are  doing.  In  advancing  your  own  State  legislation 
you  should  consider  carefully  matters  of  maintenance  and  physical 
rehabilitation.  Problems  in  this  connection  vary  from  State  to 
State,  and  each  State  man  will  know  his  own  local  conditions  best. 

I  have  asked  the'chairman,  Mr.  Sullivan,  that  at  this  point  he  turn 
over  the  meeting  to  me.  I  know  that  this  is  an  unusual  request, 
but  I  am  sure  you  will  understand  it,  because  I  see  at  this  point  a 
splendid  opportunity  in  having  you  all  here,  to  discuss  with  you 
our  administration  of  the  Federal  act.  We  want  your  suggestions 
to  come  freely  and  whole-heartedly,  as  I  know  they  will.  We  are 
administering  this  law  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge  and  ability. 
We  constantly  realize,  however,  that  we  are  partners  with  you  in 
the  work.  We  want  to  know  your  problems  and  difficulties  and  to 
help  you  to  solve  them. 

Chairman  SULLIVAN.  In  accordance  with  the  wish  of  Mr.  Kratz, 
I  shall,  therefore,  turn  the  meeting  over  to  him. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Please  feel  free  now  to  ask  any  questions  which 
may  come  to  mind. 

Mr.  HOCKEY.  Regarding  the  question  of  paying  tuition  for  a  man 
in  training,  even  if  he  does  receive  something  from  the  employer, 
14765—22 9 


130  VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION. 

we  have  the  wrong  viewpoint — he  should  necessarily  work  his  way 
through  it.  If  he  is  giving  to  the  employer,  he  ought  to  get  some- 
thing from  the  employer.  I  think  he  is  entitled  to  his  earnings. 
He  gets  what  he  earns  and  not  any  more.  I  place  a  man  in  training 
and  I  have  taken  a  double  contract  to  protect  that  man.  We  have 
in  our  State  no  training  arrangements  of  any  kind.  I  might  make 
arrangements  with  the  Aldry  Trade  School  in  Smith-Hughes  work. 
The  type  of  training  has  never  yet  been  suitable  to  the  type  of  reha- 
bilitation cases  that  have  come  to  us.  I  have  some  men  that  I 
might  possibly  train  in  rug  weaving.  We  have  quite  a  trade  for 
the  tourists.  I  have  tried  to  get  some  one  to  teach  a  man  this  work. 
There  is  no  agency  in  the  State  which  has  a  loom.  I  can  not  buy  a 
loom.  I  go  to  the  men  who  are  skilled  in  it  and  they  want  to  use 
their  looms  all  the  time  themselves,  and  there  is  no  time  in  which 
the  loom  is  free  to  get  this  man  on  it.  Could  that  be  instructional 
supplies  or  equipment  ? 

Mr.  SCHNEIDER.  The  distinction  is  made  in  Missouri  along  this 
line  as  far  as  possible.  Instructional  supplies  are  considered  supplies 
which  are  expendible,  that  is,  supplies  which  will  be  used  up  during 
the  process  of  training. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  Rehabilitation  means  rendering  a  disabled  person 
fit  to  engage  in  remunerative  employment.  The  first  thing  to  render 
a  man  fit  is  to  give  him  opportunity  for  medical  or  surgical  aid.  I  feel 
that  in  every  rehabilitation  program  the  Federal  Government  should 
bear  its  share  of  that  in  every  State.  I  think  one  of  the  investiga- 
tions I  voted  for  was  physical  rehabilitation  facilities.  I  believe  that 
is  an  important  thing.  I  do  not  like  to  ask  doctors  to  do  this  free. 
I  have  done  it  with  success.  I  think  if  the  Federal  Government  would 
give  us  an  opportunity  along  that  line  it  would  be  well.  About  the 
matter  of  equipment  and  supplies,  it  is  the  biggest  piece  of  graft.  We 
had  it  in  our  State  vocational  education  law.  The  locality  would 
want  everything.  I  believe  that  in  some  of  these  other  things,  if 
they  would  match  us  in  physical  restoration  I  think  we  could  take 
care  of  the  equipment.  It  is  hard  to  distinguish  between  equipment 
and  tools,  which  are  perishable.  They  are  really  a  supply  item,  as 
far  as  the  course  is  concerned,  and  it  is  a  pretty  hard  thing  to  deter- 
mine the  difference  between  supplies  and  equipment.  I  believe,  for 
instance,  that  a  watchmaker's  tools,  in  some  cases  being  highly  perish- 
able, should  be  considered  as  supplies. 

Mr.  HOCKEY.  We  reflect  the  atmosphere  of  the  different  localities, 
or  the  problems  that  are  there.  In  Wisconsin  there  are  facilities  that 
are  greatly  different  from  ours.  This  question  was  originally  inter- 
preted in  New  Mexico.  We  have  no  facilities  for  training.  We 
simply  have  to  go  out  and  do  the  job  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  the 
people. 


VOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION.  131 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  In  the  question  of  supplies  and  equipment,  common 
sense  ought  to  rule.  You  take  a  man,  put  him  into  bookkeeping  or 
drafting.  He  has  to  have  books,  board,  etc.  Some  courses  run  very 
high.  I  think  we  are  perfectly  justified  in  paying  $5  for  drafting 
tools,  but  not  for  watchmaking  tools.  Drafting  instruments  are 
just  as  much  instructional  supplies  as  equipment.  We  will  pay  for 
instruction  in  institutions  where  it  is  necessary  to  pay  tuition.  We 
will  not  pay  a  cent  to  a  man  in  an  industrial  establishment.  There 
are  some  institutions  where  men  will  bill  you  so  much  for  tuition. 
Ordinarily  his  board  is  provided;  nothing  doing.  No  such  record  on 
the  books.  We  will  pay  straight  tuition.  I  think  you  can  not  get 
a  local  interpretation.  The  more  we  clutter  this  work  up  with  definite 
standards,  the  more  we  are  going  to  put  ourselves  in  a  fix.  For 
instance,  I  do  not  think  a  set  of  plumbers'  tools  are  properly  supplies. 

Mr.  ROCKEY.  The  matter  of  interpretation  is  a  local  problem. 

Mr.  STANTON.  My  understanding  of  the  spirit  and  purposes  of  the 
law  is  that  they  are  for  the  purposes  of  fitting  a  man  for  employment. 
We  have  just  completed  the  training  of  several  men  in  mattress 
making  and  renovating.  In  order  for  them  to  carry  on  it  is  necessary 
to  have  a  machine,  costing  $75.  Those  men  can  not  support  them- 
selves in  that  employment  without  the  machine. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Mr.  White,  have  you  anything  to  say  on  this 
subject? 

Mr.  WHITE.  Not  a  thing.  I  think  Mr.  Riddle  struck  the  nail  on 
the  head  when  he  said  that  it  all  revolved  around  the  proposition 
of  the  use  of  common  sense  in  the  States. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Mr.  White,  does  common  sense  vary  in  the  States  ? 

Mr.  WHITE.  Common  sense  is  nothing  more  than  horse  sense;  it  is 
something  a  jackass  hasn't  got.  I  had  a  young  lady  who  wanted  to 
take  a  course  in  music.  She  made  the  very  modest  request  that  she 
wanted  a  baby  grand  piano.  If  you  start  out  on  the  theory  that 
you  must  supply  a  man  everything,  you  get  into  difficult  straits. 
Just  exercise  judgment.  I  agree  heartily  with  Mr.  Riddle.  I  would 
not  think  of  buying  a  complete  set  of  tools  in  watchmaking  for  a 
jeweler.  In  mechanical  drafting  a  man  needs  those  tools  as  indi- 
vidual supplies.  The  watchmaker  will  find  tools  available  on  the  job. 
What  you  are  going  to  do  is  to  instruct  the  man;  that  is  the  only 
method  I  see. 

Mr.  SHAW  of  West  Virginia.  I  believe  that  we  can  buy  tools  for 
the  man  to  have  for  the  time  of  training  and  not  carry  over  beyond 
that. 

Mr.  FAULKES.  I  do  not  agree  with  the  man  on  jewelry  tools.  No 
jeweler  will  give  them  tools.  The  standard  set  of  tools  he  finds  in  a 
shop  are  10  years  out  of  date.  You  can  get  that  training.  If  you 
want  training  on  the  job  for  a  man,  jewelry  or  clock  repairing,  you 


132  VOCATIONAL  EEHABILITATION. 

have  to  buy  those  tools.  Why  are  they  not  supplies  in  the  same 
sense  of  tools  as  a  draftsman's  ?  I  can  not  see  that  at  all. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  Mr.  Faulkes,  do  you  mean  you  would  contribute  those 
to  the  trainee  after  his  training  course  is  complete,  or  furnish  them 
for  the  training  period  alone  ? 

Mr.  FAULKES.  I  would  not  want  to  use  that  man's  set  of  tools, 
because  another  fellow  could  not  use  those  tools.  They  are  second- 
hand tools.  As  far  as  jewelry  or  clock  repairing  tools  are  concerned, 
half  of  them  are  perishable.  Fine  tools  are  broken.  It  is  more  of  a 
supply  item  than  it  would  be  in  drafting  tools.  A  man  uses  the  same 
pen  for  10  years.  I  do  not  see  how  you  can  pass  a  drafting  set  from 
one  man  to  another.  It  is  done  in  schools,  but  it  is  a  mighty  poor 
practice.  You  must  get  away  from  the  academic  system  of  training. 
You  can  not  get  any  results  that  way. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  Our  policy  in  Massachusetts  is  to  furnish  supplies 
where  necessary  during  the  training  period.  Each  trainee  signs  a 
receipt.  He  can  keep  the  tools  until  such  time  as  he  reimburses  the 
State  or  returns  them  to  the  State.  They  remain  the  property  of  the 
State.  After  his  training  period  ceases,  he  must  return  the  tools  or 
make  some  arrangements  for  the  proper  payment.  I  have  not  found 
one  person  who  has  objected  to  that. 

Mr.  SHAW,  Ohio.  We  have  no  institution  in  Ohio  where  we  can 
train  men  for  watchmaking.  I  have  a  man  32  years  old,  going  away 
from  home  to  take  training  in  watchmaking.  The  training  is  costing 
us  nothing,  travel  nothing,  and  tools  will  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of 
$55.  When  the  man  has  finished  training,  he  goes  back  to  his  home 
in  the  country.  He  is  going  to  get  the  work  of  three  jewelers.  I 
would  like  to  release  the  tools  to  that  man.  In  some  cases  we  may 
pay  as  much  as  $150  for  an  artificial  appliance  and  through  that 
rehabilitate  the  person.  In  others  we  may  pay  considerably  more 
for  tuition,  and  rehabilitate  the  person  through  training.  The  ques- 
tion in  the  last  analysis  is  that  rehabilitation  is  our  goal  and  it  would 
seem  to  me  that  it  makes  mighty  little  difference  for  what  purpose 
the  expenditure  goes  so  long  as  it  is  reasonable. 

Mr.  STANTON.  My  experience  in  watch  repairing  has  been  the 
same  as  Mr.  Faulkes  and  Mr.  Shaw.  In  the  majority  of  cases  we 
find  very  little  use  for  Federal  funds.  We  can  not  expend  funds 
for  operations  or  medical  treatment.  In  a  majority  of  cases,  we  do 
not  pay  any  tuition.  It  is  employment  training,  and  we  do  not 
think  it  is  the  best  thing  to  pay  for  tuition  in  that  training.  We 
use  matched  funds  for  artificial  legs.  As  Mr.  White  said  in  his 
speech,  we  can  only  offer  them  10  cents  on  the  dollar  toward  helping 
them. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  Do  you  pay  tuition  for  employment  training? 

Mr.  STANTON.  No. 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  133 

Mr.  STRUCK.  There  is  some  danger  along  the  lines  regarding 
•equipment  and  supplies.  We  should  agree  as  to  what  should  be 
called  supplies  and  what  should  be  called  equipment.  We  look 
upon  those  things  as  supplies  that  are  used  within  a  certain  time. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  set  of  drafting  instruments  is  not  supplies,  it  is 
equipment.  I  think  it  is  a  good  thing  for  us  to  get  together  and  form 
some  conclusions. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  We  haven't  heard  from  Mr.  Woods. 

Mr.  WOODS.  We  believe  that  anything  that  is  worth  while  is 
worth  paying  for,  and  if  we  pay  the  training  agency  they  will  take  a 
personal  interest  and  take  a  great  interest  in  the  individual  receiving 
training.  As  to  instructional  supplies  and  equipment,  I  would  like 
the  interpretation  to  remain  just  as  it  has  been.  Recently  I  placed 
a  man  in  a  barber  school  and  we  gave  him  razors  and  the  few  brushes 
that  were  necessary.  The  thing  that  we  are  watching  is  the  total 
cost  of  rehabilitation.  We  are  trying  to  keep  the  total  cost  down. 

Mr.  STRUCK.  I  do  not  object  to  paying  for  education.  That  is 
the  proper  thing,  but  that  is  quite  different  from  paying  for  employ- 
ment training,  to  recompense  for  that  employment  and  where  the 
main  object  is  money  rather  than  instruction.  If  you  put  a  man  on 
the  job  in  industry,  the  main  purpose  is  production.  It  is  not  the 
main  practice  of  our  shops  to  give  instruction.  Therefore,  I  hesitate 
putting  money  in  employment  training. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  I  thought  that  we  were  going  to  talk  about  future 
legislation. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  If  the  Federal  act  is  wrong,  it  ought  to  be  re- 
vised. If  the  State  acts  are  not  broad  enough,  they  should  be  revised. 
The  Federal  board  has  to  set  up  policies  of  administration.  It 
is  very  evident  that  rehabilitation  is  a  highly  individual  process, 
•and  we  are  told  that  in  some  cases  all  you  have  to  give  a  man  is  thera- 
peutic training  and  that  is  rehabilitation,  but  unfortunately  the  Fed- 
eral act  does  not  contemplate  using  money  for  physical  rehabilitation. 

You  can  use  Federal  funds  for  prosthetic  appliances  in  vocational 
rehabilitation.  I  recently  heard  of  a  case  which  could  have  been 
rehabilitated  through  the  purchase  of  a  fruit-  stand.  You  have  every 
possible  variation.  The  main  thing  before  us  is  what  revisions  of 
our  act  are  needed. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN.  It  is  much  more  important  to  consider  whether  the 
subsidy  is  to  be  continued.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  sentiment  in 
the  country  as  it  is  would  be  to  broaden  the  expenditures  under  the 
Federal  act.  As  to  any  revised  definition  of  what  supplies  are,  you 
can  not  make  them  uniform  around  the  country.  The  less  tinkering 
you  do  the  better. 

Chairman  KRATZ.  As  said  before,  the  division  contemplates  calling 
to  Washington  persons  interested  in  our  legislation  and  qualified  to 


134  \rOCATIONAL   REHABILITATION. 

give  us  expert  advice.  We  will  go  before  Congress  with  a  very 
definite  program.  Mr.  Sullivan's  point  is  well  taken.  We  believe 
this  is  a  good  act.  An  act  may  be  ever  so  good,  but  it  may  be  poorly 
administered. 

Mr.  FULMEE.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  unless  our  State  legislature 
should  restrict  or  limit  us,  I  want  to  let  it  alone.  I  do  not  want  to 
open  it  up.  I  would  like  to  ask  the  chairman  whether  this  matter 
of  purchasing  of  supplies  is  written  into  the  Federal  act  at  the  present 
time  or  is  that  an  interpretation  of  the  Federal  board.  Also  the 
matter  of  prostheses.  Suppose  we  go  before  Congress,  we  may  get 
what  we  do  not  want.  Let  the  Federal  board  continue  its  inter- 
pretations. 

Mr.  JOB.  Entirely  aside  from  the  question  under  discussion,  I  do 
not  want  this  conference  to  go  by  without  stating  that  I  would  like 
to  see  some  change  in  the  law,  designating  the  State  board  for  voca- 
tional education  in  the  various  States  as  the  agency  for  administering 
the  vocational  rehabilitation  law.  I  feel  very  keenly  that  in  some 
States  our  work  would  be  very  much  better  off  if  the  State  board  of 
education  were  not  burdened  with  the  administration  of  the  law. 
Our  State  superintendent  has  said  to  me,  "Why  in  the  world  was 
this  work  ever  put  under  our  department?"  The  hardest  thing  I 
have  to  do  is  to  keep  the  board  educated.  If  the  law  were  under  the 
compensation  commissioner,  we  could  do  our  work  much  more 
efficiently.  It  is  very  hard  in  Indiana  to  make  those  school  super- 
intendents, whose  thought  is  of  the  interest  of  school  children,  think 
of  this  thing  in  the  light  of  an  industrial  problem.  If  the  Federal 
law  is  to  be  revised,  I  personally  should  like  to  see  the  matter  of 
fixing  the  responsibility  in  the  States  left  open  so  that  the  States 
could,  if  they  wish,  designate  some  institution  or  organization  other 
than  the  State  board  of  education  as  the  agency  responsible-  for  the 
administration  of  the  law. 

Mr.  SPITZ.  Might  I  say  that  we  in  New  Jersey  fully  agree  with  the 
sentiment  of  the  gentleman  from  Indiana.  We  have  had  this  ques- 
tion of  rehabilitation  up  to  our  board  and  they  say  it  does  not  belong 
to  them.  We  can  not  at  any  time  lay  down  hard  and  fast  rules. 
For  instance,  we  have  a  man  under  our  care  who  did  not  know  the 
compensation  law,  who  could  not  speak  English.  He  had  been  in 
the  country  for  10  years.  He  had  a  fall  in  a  shop,  and  allowed  the 
statute  of  limitations  to  run  and  could  not  claim  compensation. 
Another  man,  a  derelict,  discovered  in  a  hospital,  had  his  hand 
amputated.  That  man  is  just  homesick  to  get  back  to  Europe,  and 
with  a  stretch  of  imagination  I  think  our  division  will  be  able  to  fur- 
nish him  with  transportation  to  send  him  back  to  his  home  abroad. 
In  our  judgment  that  is  just  the  right  kind  of  rehabilitation  to  give 
that  individual.  You  can  not  lay  down  a  hard  and  fast  n 


rule.     We 


VOCATIONAL  REHABILITATION.  135 

find  ways  and  means  either  within  the  law  or  without  the  law.  Con- 
sideration should  be  given  by  the  Federal  board  to  that  chapter  in 
our  law  which  says  that  the  provisions  be  liberally  construed.  That 
is  the  crux  of  the  whole  situation.  The  service  is  each  State  is  just 
as  strong  as  the  executives  make  it. 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  I  agree  with  Mr.  Job,  I  would  like  to  see  in  the  Federal 
act  provision  that  the  choice  of  administration  would  be  left  to  the 
State.  When  the  Federal  act  became  effective  there  were  already 
10  States  that  had  passed  law  for  the  work,  and  in  almost  every  one 
of  them  provision  had  been  made  to  start  it  in  another  department 
of  the  State  than  the  Board  for  Vocational  Education.  I  understand 
that  the  sentiment  before  Congress  was  that  it  would  be  possible  to 
get  Federal  funds  appropriated  more  readily  for  an  extension  of 
education  rather  than  for  an  expansion  of  workmen's  compensation 
payments  for  industrial  training. 

Mr.  MEYER.  How  far  will  the  Federal  board  assist  us  in  getting  a 
ruling  from  the  Civil  Service  Commission  in  employing  disabled  men  ? 

Chairman  KRATZ.  The  Federal  board  has  had  this  matter  under 
consideration  and  has  taken  it  up  with  the  commission.  We  will 
press  it  further. 

The  time  has  now  come  when  we  must  close  our  conference.  It 
has  been  your  conference,  but  we  as  Federal  board  people  have 
enjoyed  it  immensely.  We  have  heard  lots  of  comments  upon  it 
of  a  complimentary  nature.  May  I  take  this  occasion  to  express 
our  appreciation  of  the  services  of  every  person  who  has  con- 
tributed to  make  this  conference  what  it  has  been.  The  Federal 
board  is  always  at  your  service  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  your 
State  rehabilitation  work.  Whether  the  Federal  board  will  con- 
tinue to  administer  a  Federal  act  in  the  promotion  of  vocational 
rehabilitation  will  depend  not  so  much  on  what  your  State  law  is, 
what  your  State  legislators  will  do,  but  upon  the  kind  of  a  job  that  you 
do.  It  is  not  what  you  say  to  your  politicians,  or  your  legislators, 
but  what  you  do.  Some  one  has  said  in  an  analysis  of  character, 
"What  you  do  speaks  so  loudly  I  can  not  hear  what  you  say."  If  you 
rehabilitate  or  serve  a  great  many  persons  no  legislature  under 
heaven  can  refuse  to  make  adequate  appropriations  for  your  work. 
Our  meeting  stands  adjourned. 

Mr.  DALLAS.  I  would  like  to  offer  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Federal 
board,  to  the  local  supervisor,  and  to  the  people  of  Missouri  for  their 
courtesy  to  us  during  our  visit  in  St.  Louis. 

(Adjournment.) 


AVAILABLE  BULLETINS    OF   THE  FEDERAL   BOARD   FOR 
VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION. 


Annual  report. 

Bulletin  No.  1.  Statement  of  Policies.  Revised 
edition,  April,  1922. 

Bulletin  No.  13.  (Agricultural  Series,  No.  1.)  Agri- 
cultural Education — Organization  and  Admin- 
istration. 

Bulletin  No.  16.  Emergency  War  Training  for 
Radio  Mechanics  and  Radio  Operators. 

Bulletin  No.  17.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
1.)  Trade  and  Industrial  Education — Organiza- 
tion and  Administration. 

Bulletin  No.  18.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
2.)  Evening  Industrial  Schools. 

Bulletin  No.  19.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
3.)  Part-time  Trade  and  Industrial  Education. 

Bulletin  No.  20.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
4.)  Buildings  and  Equipment  for  Schools  and 
Classes  in  Trade  and  Industrial  Subjects. 

Bulletin  No.  21.  (Agricultural  Series,  No.  3.)  The 
Home  Project  as  a  Phase  of  Vocational  Agricul- 
tural Education. 

Bulletin  No.  22.  (Commercial  Education  Series,  No. 
1.)  Retail  Selling. 

Bulletin  No.  23.  (Home  Economics  Series,  No.  1.) 
Clothing  for  the  Family.  On  sale  by  Super- 
intendent of  Documents,  Government  Printing 
Office.  15c  per  copy. 

Bulletin  No.  26.  (Agricultural  Series,  No.  4.)  Agri- 
cultural Education— Some  Problems  in  State 
Supervision. 

Bulletin  No.  27.  (Agricultural  Series,  No.  5.)  The 
Training  of  Teachers  of  Vocational  Agriculture. 

Bulletin  No.  28.  (Home  Economics  Series,  No.  2.) 
Home  Economics  Education— Organization 
and  Administration. 

Bulletin  No.  30.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
5.)  Evening  and  Part-time  Schools  in  the  Tex- 
tile Industry  of  the  Southern  States. 

Bulletin  No.  31.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
6.)  Training  Courses  in  Safety  and  Hygiene 
in  the  Building  Trades. 

Bulletin  No.  34.  (Commercial  Education  Series, 
No.  3.)  Commercial  Education — Organization 
and  Administration. 

Bulletin  No.  35.  (Home  Economics  Series,  No.  3.) 
Use  and  Preparation  of  Food.  On  sale  by 
Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government 
Printing  Office,  20c  per  copy. 

Bulletin  No.  36.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 

7.)    Foreman  Training  Courses.    Part  I. 
Bulletin  No.  36.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 

7.)    Foreman  Training  Courses.    Part  II. 
Bulletin  No.  37.  (Home  Economic  Series,  No.  4.) 
Survey  of  the  Needs  in  the  Field  of  Vocational 
Home  Economics  Education. 


14765—22- 


-10 


Bulletin  No.  38.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
8.)  General  Mining.  On  sale  by  Superintend- 
ent of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office. 
15c  per  copy. 

Bulletin  No.  39.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
9.)  Coal-Mine  Gases.  On  sale  by  Superintend- 
ent of  Documents,  Government  Printing 
Office.  5c  per  copy. 

Bulletin  No.  40.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
10.)  Coal-Mine  Timbering.  On  sale  by  Super- 
intendent of  Documents,  Government  Print- 
ing Office.  15c  per  copy. 

Bulletin  No.  41.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
11.)  Coal-Mine  Ventilation.  On  sale  by  Super- 
intendent of  Documents,  Government  Printing 
Office.  lOc  per  copy. 

Bulletin  No.  42.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series,  No. 
12.)  Safety  Lamps,  including  Flame  Safety 
Lamps  and  Approved  Electric  Lamps.  On 
sale  by  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office.  lOc  per  copy. 

Bulletin  No.  43.  (Employment  Management  Series, 
No.  8.)  The  Labor  Audit.  A  Method  of  In- 
dustrial Investigation. 

Bulletin  No.  44.  (Employment  Management  Series, 
No.  5.)  The  Wage-Setting  Process. 

Bulletin  No.  45.  (Employment  Management  Series, 
No.  3.)  Job  Specifications. 

Bulletin  No.  46.  (Employment  Management  Series, 
No.  6.)  The  Turnover  of  Labor. 

Bulletin  No.  47.  (Employment  Management  Series, 
No.  7.)  Industrial  Accidents  and  Their  Pre- 
vention. 

Bulletin  No.  48.  (Employment  Management  Series, 
No.  4.)  Employment  Management  and  Indus- 
trial Training. 

Bulletin  No.  49.  (Employment  Management  Series, 
No.  2.)  The  Selection  and  Placement  of  Em- 
ployees. 

Bulletin  No.  50.  (Employment  Management  Series, 
No.  1.)  Employment  Management:  Its  Rise 
and  Scope. 

Bulletin  No.  51.  (Employment  Management  Series, 
No.  9.)  Bibliography  of  Employment  Manage- 
ment. 

Bulletin  No.  52.  (Trade  and  Industrial  Series, 
No.  13.)  Theory  and  Practice.  Machinist's 
Trade.  On  sale  by  Sperintendent  of  Docu- 
ments, Government  Printing  Office.  lOc  per 
copy. 

Bulletin  No.  53.  (Agricultural  Series,  No.  6.)  Les- 
sons in  Plant  Production  for  Southern  Schools . 

Bulletin  No.  54.  (Commercial  Education  Series 
No.  4.)  Survey  of  Junior  Commercial  Occupa- 
tions. 

137 


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BERKELEY 


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